Amputee Who Cosplayed Apex Legends’ Octane At EA Play Is An Actual Inspiration

EA decided not to take part in an E3 2019 conference this year, but that didn’t stop the company having a blast during the most exciting week of the year for gaming.

Credit: Respawn Entertainment

Celebrating EA Play, EA’s pre-E3 event to talk all things Electronic Arts, a very impressive team of Apex Legends cosplayers were spotted in Los Angeles.

Credit: Respawn Entertainment

Posing with players and E3-goers, the Apex Legends team all sported some incredibly detailed costumes, but the Octane cosplayer in particular got everyone talking.

For those who haven’t played Apex, Octane is one of the latest additions to the game, and he canonically blew his legs off after an accident with a grenade.

Cosplaying as Octane during EA Play was Erin Ball, a circus performer and a double amputee who was wearing custom prosthetics.

What a way to represent!

Credit: Respawn Entertainment

Speaking to Eurogamer, Ball talked about the importance of representation in the video games industry.

“I think it’s incredible that they’ve brought in an amputee, and representation is very important,” Ball said.

“I see a lot of movies, for example, where an amputee’s role is played by somebody who is not an amputee, and there are many amputees out there looking for work who are talented, and so I think it’s important for that reason. I think it’s important for kids to see all the different possibilities.”

The jaw-droppingly impressive cosplay outfit was created with a lot of love and care by prop marker, Aaron Vindua.

Credit: Respawn Entertainment

Vindua explained to Eurogamer that the prosthetics were created by measuring the circumference of the sockets, creating a 3D model and modifying the in-game character’s look to fit around the prosthetic.

According to Vindua, Ball was subject to a tonne of encouragement and celebration during the event, with lots of people praising both her and EA for ‘normalising’ disability.

More of this please!

Featured Image Credit: Respawn Entertainment