Ocean Quigley, creative director of SimCity has left EA to form a new independent studio. "After 17 years on SimCity it was time for something new," he tweeted.

His new studio will be called Jellygrade, and he will be accompanied by SimCity lead architect Andrew Willmott and lead gameplay engineer Dan Moskowitz.

"We're starting our own studio to do exactly the games that we love," he said on Twitter, adding that he's "done with EA."

Like Maxis, Jellygrade will focus on creating simulation games. Quigley notes that they will focus on "some similar subjects, but treated more realistically." He promises that their first game will ship with "a fundamentally new simulation engine."

"We're making a simulation about the dawn of life on earth; about lava, water, rock and the emergence of the first primordial creatures," Quigley described. Concept images of their first game can be seen on the company's Tumblr page.

Jellygrade's first project is currently targeting iPad and tablet, "but hope to port to other platforms."