Design a 'Dark Souls' shield for video game fame (and loot)

(All rights reserved - Namco Bandai / From Software)

Rock-hard beast slayer Dark Souls has a space in its armory for three new shield designs, and budding artisans have until July 13 to submit their design on Facebook.

Shield templates are to be made available to Dark Souls' Facebook fans, with the ensuing fan vote continuing until July 20.

The game's designers at From Software will then pick three final designs for inclusion in the game.

Winners get a signed limited edition of the finished game and their name in the credits.

Predecessor Demon's Souls was a PlayStation 3 exclusive with a cult following, but Dark Souls will be available on both Xbox 360 and PS3 come the week of October 4 (September 15 in Japan).

It'll be launching at the same time as post-apocalyptic shooter Rage, and just shortly before FIFA 12, Forza 4, Batman: Arkham City, and Battlefield 3 - by which time the marketing campaign for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim's dragon-scaling shenanigans should be in full force, not to mention a little thing called Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Tough crowd.

http://www.facebook.com/darksouls