While the mythical character's wings quickly burned away as he neared the sun, Icarus Studios appears to have learned the fable's lesson. Avoiding hype and focusing on the fundamentals of game design, the creators of the under-the-radar Fallen Earth have a new method of leaving a mark on the world.

We had a chance to sit down with Jim Hettinger and Christophe Watkins of the Cary based design firm and take a look at their post-apocalyptic view of the future. Hettinger, the CEO of the company, founded MPG-Net, the highly successful multiplayer gaming network, as well as previously worked on Kingdom of Drakkar. He and Watkins, the Vice President of Business Development, are old friends and previously worked together designing and producing mobile games, before venturing into the MMOG design field.