[Guest post by JAMES!]

It may come but once a year, but boy when it comes it doesn't half make the desks shiny... it's the Mediatonic annual decorate-your-desk competition!

December 2011 - time once again to crack out the awesome and wrap it in tinsel. The gauntlet laid down is the same as always: armed with ?20 worth of festive wares, each team must decorate the Christmas out of their desks. There was music, scissors, sellotape, tinsel and much frivolity (not necessarily in that order).

All that's left is for you to be blown away by the spectacle, bowled sideways by the sheer magnificence of it all, and ultimately vote for which desk you think is worthy of the highest praise and adoration.

The teams flaunting all that they have for judgement this year are...

Table 1 - Team Cat Bus

Team Cat Bus decided to bring the world of My Neighbour Totoro and the trappings of Christmas cheer together! They set up a collection of Totoros and other similarly Ghibli-inspired creations arranged festively among streamers and a pretty mighty Christmas Tree. It was all capped off with an animated Cat Bus on each desktop screen complete with team members in every window.

Table 2 - Team Superb

Team Superb took on the challenge of re-creating a Christmas town in miniature. There were mini houses, snow, lights, trees and even a drive in cinema showing the Grinch! The inclusion of candles may have increased the risk of fire but some things are just worth it. Burning down the office would have been a noble sacrifice in the search of decoration perfection.

Table 3 - Team Games of Christmas Past

Team Games of Christmas Past took it back to the old school and proved that apparently, everything is in a name. With a monumental Christmas Tree lording it over everyone in the centre of the table, the rest of their decoration really was games from the past. With classic consoles at each monitor displaying the likes of Alex Kidd, Secret of Mana and Super Smash Bros., the sheer wealth of childhood memories almost makes up for that mannequin.

Table 4 - Vodka and Red Yule

If you put about ?20 worth of assorted Christmas paraphernalia into a rocket-launcher and then fired it at some desks I imagine you'd get something close to team Vodka and Red Yule's offering. And that's no bad thing. With each desk covered in Christmas paper, things hanging from the ceiling, a tree and a Dalek, things don't get much more Christmassy. The leering face of what looks to be an evil Santa can only strengthen their cause.

Table 5 - Team Generrrrrrrrichristmas

Taking the motto 'good things come in small packages' and throwing it out the window, Team Generrrrrrrrichristmas went to town wrapping large parcels and arranging them on their desks. With each monitor displaying a log fire, and bubble wrap under foot simulating the crunch of snow, the whole thing was Christmas through and through. The inclusion of ceiling decorations made from polystyrene and torn up Pret a Manger napkins takes innovation to a whole new level.

So there you have it. All that's left is for you to vote for your favourite and for one team to emerge the victor.

To vote for the winner, simply Tweet the name of the team you would like to win @Mediatonic, in the comments or on Facebook: facebook.com/mediatonic

Mediatonic recently turned 6 years old! We had a huge party to celebrate, hiring a pub near the office. There was a lot of cake, drink and many shots.

It's been a fantastic year for the business; we've won several awards and made some awesome stuff. I?m super excited about the year to come, we're working on some fantastic new games we'll be unleashing on the world and Mediatonic is expanding.

Roll on Year 7!

Hey all,

I'm pleased to announce that our third minis title, the bug-bashing and sword swinging '1000 Tiny Claws' is now available for everyone to purchase on the PSN store!

The game's been available to PSN+ subscribers for a few weeks now, but if anyone's still wondering just what to expect - here's the official trailer:

So I hope you're ready for some furious hack and slash action?

As always, the response to our previous announcement was great - and we're pumped that everyone has an opportunity to play the game now.

So if you fancy taking to the skies, reversing a curse, rodeo-riding a gigantic bull-bug or simply settling down for celebratory fruit cocktails - I suggest you get involved with 1000 Tiny Claws and let us know what you think!

Jeff

Mediatonic has been selected by the Sunday Times as one of the top 10 up and coming businesses in the UK Tech Industry alongside companies such as Mind Candy.

Its been a big year for the company as a whole and were thrilled with the news!

We've just launched a brand new project - a games portal for Adultswim on Facebook! You can now play all of your favourite Adultswim games INSIDE Facebook AGAINST your friends / enemies.

Get your game on with Facebook here: http://apps.facebook.com/adultswimgames/