We take a look into the Agent’s design process and it’s abilities.
Gekko has finally been revealed as the 22nd Agent to join VALORANT. The Los-Angeles based initiator is quite unique in VALORANT and is bound to be one of the most popular agents in the game over the next few months. As for the professional scene, expect some significant changes in the meta.
The new agent has the ability to unleash a set of creatures to do its bidding. While some agents in VALORANT, such as Skye utilize creatures to flash or concuss enemies, Gekko’s toolkit is completely different. Each of Gekko’s abilites.
Who are Gekko’s buddies?
Gekko’s buddies are as follows:
- Dizzy
- Wingman
- Thrash
- Moshpit (or Mosh)
These are the names of the Gekko buddies who can do their bidding. These creatures are quite different from existing ones as they are able to do a lot more while providing valuable information. You can read more about them here.
Gekko backstory - Challenges in designing the Agent
Gekko's design influence comes from two worlds - their parents and their hometown of Los Angeles. Bringing together these two worlds and understanding the journey of many people in real life who experience the same, Riot’s developers had to go through extensive research during the Gekko design process.
We set out to realize a first generation character, someone whose upbringing has been shaped by the blending of two different worlds: the cultural heritage of their parents, and the influences of their hometown. That experience is one felt globally.
The Pre-design process
They settled on Los Angeles, a city where people from all over the world come to settle. The melting pot city has several distinct communities. While each community has its own distinct heritage there is also a common Los Angeles trait that is visible in them. For Gekko, the developers zoned in on East Los Angeles where the community has historic roots with Mexico.
We took advantage of every opportunity we could to dig deep into that experience; consulting with members of Riot’s Riot Unidos Identity group, speaking with folds who are first-gen, outings into East LA, Mexican-American focus group research interviews, consulting with members from Riot’s Mexico office, collaborating with Gekko’s East-LA voice actor, and embedding developers with ties tothat life experience on the team working to bring Gekko to life.
A unique agent such as Gekko produces several challenges to the Riot developers. They had to ensure the new Agent, with their four unique creatures, maintains a distinct identity in the ever-growing VALORANT Agent list.
Keeping the Agent roster distinct from each other, while maintaining performance is always a difficult challenge. Gekko was the biggest one of all. Trying to create 4 super distinct creatures that you will fall in love with, while keeping them within certain game limitations is … hard. Throw in different states and it’s even harder. The team had to work through a whole array of building smart, so that we could maintain the design of the creatures, and keep the game within the performance boundaries.
When does Gekko release?
Gekko will release with the start of VALORANT Season 6 Act 2 on March 7 just after the conclusion of the VCT LOCK//IN. The Agent's first footage will be during the VCT LOCK//IN Showmatch which features two teams led by Tarik and FRTTT.
Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest VALORANT news and updates.