definatly the themes.
Also, I think (imho) that 2 mos is too long. I (personally) get discouraged if I start out at the 2 week mark... I can't keep a project that long. Even a bit shorter (1 month? 1 month 2 weeks?) would be better.
But the themes... I just don't like 'em. I liked the old ones with game characters- make a game character, texture him, rig possibly, whateva, that would have been fun. Also the realistic inorganic ones were cool. I think my skills now are 10x better than they were, and I would like to try my hand at that.
Prizes are G R E A T! (imho, again). $400 for winning? That's definatly cool (for me at least)
Hope theses suggestions help.
-Matt
Live the life you love, love the life you live