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VALORANT recently dropped “greater than one” by Ericdoa to celebrate the release of Gekko, the shooter's newest Agent.
Ericdoa and Gaming: “Music and gaming go hand and hand.”
Eric George “Ericdoa” Lopez is a 20-year old singer-songwriter from Connecticut. His music can be classified as “hyperpop/digipop,” so it is already inherently close to the gaming space. The artist agrees, saying “If it wasn’t for gaming and its extended communities, I don’t think that I’d be making music the way I do right now.”
Ericdoa also has a long history with video games. “As a child, I spent most of my days playing video games. They were the easiest escape for me and even though I wasn’t that good at them I still found the most enjoyment being engulfed in a game's lore/story. This helped greatly with concepts for songs/albums/art and shaped me into what I am today.”
The hyperpop subgenre is also something that Ericdoa described as “very heavily rooted in online gaming,” and that “most people I met, I met through gaming.” He also took the time to appreaciate music and sound design in video games: “Music and gaming go hand and hand I think to build out an atmosphere after you’ve seen the physical world. Soundtracks, sound design, etc. MAKE these game franchises what they are in my opinion. So, when it comes to the genre I believe once people began their interest in independent music creation lots of them migrated over.”
Ericdoa on VALORANT: “The chemistry was immediately felt.”
When asked how his collaboration with the popular first-person shooter, he said that he immediately met with Riot Games as soon as they put out a feeler for their new Los Angeles agent. “The chemistry was immediately felt” in the meeting, according to Ericdoa.
Music aside, the artist has been playing VALORANT since the Beta released. “VALORANT was something I could shut my brain off with when I was scared about not making rent on time, being anxious about if I was doing the right thing with music, etc. It was an escape just like when I was younger, and being able to make a song for the game is a dream come true.”
VALORANT's release window also came at a crucial point in Ericdoa's career, “the [COVID-19] lockdown was one of the most important eras of my life, my career blossoming through the midst of it all.”
Ericdoa on future gaming projects
When asked if he had any plans to incorporate gaming into his future music projects, Ericdoa replied favorably. “Most of my ideas for stories and concepts come from my favorite video game titles. As long as I’m playing, it will ALWAYS be incorporated into whatever I do. “
