new projects

depends on the size of the company. for small companies, it'll most often be the president/ceo/board of directors (who ever owns the company or is putting up the money). in a large publishing house, it might be an executive producer or division vp.

someone w/o experience is unlikely to get any attention whatsoever unless you have a truly awesome demo.

It's usually not one person. A committee of executives (sometimes called a "greenlight committee") often makes the decision.
Of course, I'm talking about the publisher side (where the money usually comes from).
See FAQs 1, 10, 11, 14, and 28 for starters...
http://www.sloperama.com/advice/idea.htm
http://www.sloperama.com/advice/lesson10.htm
http://www.sloperama.com/advice/lesson11.htm
http://www.sloperama.com/advice/lesson14.htm
http://www.sloperama.com/advice/lesson28.htm

Quote:

Original post by Rene6983 I was just wondering, what specific person or people in the industry gives the go ahead to start development on a new project?

Are you talking about having a job at an independent development studio and pitching your idea internally or about Developers pitching ideas to publishers to get funding?

Quote:

Does a newcomer get any attention when pitching his/her idea to someone in the industry?

Depends on what exactly your talking about. A new staffer at a small dev studio might get some attention if they pitch an idea internally but an individual new to the industry trying to pitch to EA would be very unlikely to be heard. As I say it depends on what exactly you mean.

Quote:

Original post by Rene6983 I was just wondering, what specific person or people in the industry gives the go ahead to start development on a new project?

The job title varies, and sometimes it is a group rather than an individual, but the role is the same: The person or group who can authorize a multi-million dollar venture.

Quote:

Does a newcomer get any attention when pitching his/her idea to someone in the industry?

If you are referring to the possibility of getting a game published, not unless that newcomer is in a position to authorize multi-million dollar ventures.

Even people with a decade or more of work experience in the industry have a hard time getting ideas pitched. This is a big reason for so many startups.

Quote:

Original post by Obscure Quote: Original post by Rene6983 I was just wondering, what specific person or people in the industry gives the go ahead to start development on a new project? Are you talking about having a job at an independent development studio and pitching your idea internally or about Developers pitching ideas to publishers to get funding? Quote: Does a newcomer get any attention when pitching his/her idea to someone in the industry? Depends on what exactly your talking about. A new staffer at a small dev studio might get some attention if they pitch an idea internally but an individual new to the industry trying to pitch to EA would be very unlikely to be heard. As I say it depends on what exactly you mean.

Well since I have no knowledge about how the industry works it was hard to get my question across.

Anyways thanks for the replies. I get it now.