This article originally appeared on VICE Germany.
Since it began back in 2009, Gamescom – the world’s biggest video games convention – has attracted millions of gamers, cosplayers and industry experts to Cologne, every year. It’s basically Glastonbury for gamers, and this year it drew over 320,000 people.
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A huge part of the look and feel of the event is cosplay. Cosplaying is an art form that grew out of the practice of wearing homemade costumes at sci-fi fairs, and dates back as far as the 1940s. Star Trek, Star Wars and The Rocky Horror Picture Show propelled this custom into mainstream culture by encouraging fans to hit the cinemas in outfits inspired by their fictional universes. The word that has come to commonly describe this artform “cosplay” (a blend of “costume” and “play”) was first coined in a Japanese anime magazine in the 80s.
But what sort of effort goes into creating the perfect cosplay outfit? And how much time and money do cosplayers pour into their craft? We sent photographers Till Milius and Anton Roentz to capture the best outfits at this year’s Gamescom, and ask the searching questions that’d help us fully appreciate the dedication of these super fans.
Bastian, 38, and Oliver, 37
VICE: How much time and money did you invest on your outfits?
Bastian: Everything is DIY. The materials cost around £250 to £350 over the years. It’s hard to estimate how much time we’ve invested because we’ve worked on it for hours, weeks, months. It took about six months just to get the basic structure done.
Oliver: The costume evolves from year to year. You always find something you can improve, and that costs money, of course.
Gianna, 30
VICE: Why did you choose this outfit today?
Gianna: I used to play World of Warcraft a lot with my best friend – especially the Wrath of the Lich King expansion. That’s why I’m dressed as the Lich King, or rather: the Lich Queen.
How much time and money did you spend?
I bought it from a friend for about £250 and invested another £130 into it. She’d been working on it for several weeks, and I did another two weeks on it myself.
Marvin, 22
VICE: How money went into this armour?
Marvin: About £2,500. I had my outfit made by a specialist company and it took them seven months to finish it.
Wow. What motivated you to invest so much into it?
I just happened to have the money, and didn’t really know what else to do with it. I could have saved it, of course. But I’ll have plenty of opportunities to save in the future. I’m going to make a lot of money on the ship in the coming months and I won’t need to spend much during that.
What ship? Are you going on a cruise?
Yes, exactly, I work on a cruise. As long as I can afford it, and still have enough money in case my car breaks down or something, I’ll keep doing it [cosplay].
Kerstin, 25, and Michelle, 25
VICE: How much time and money went into these outfits?
Kerstin: I bought mine for about £70 and the tape accessories cost me another £15. The only problem was figuring out how to tape everything together properly because it’s quite tight. I had to watch tutorials and ask around – it took me around five hours.
Michelle: Mine took about 40 hours and cost around £350, I think. I made everything myself.
What do you enjoy the most about cosplay?
Michelle: I’m a social worker, and it can be quite exhausting at times. Cosplaying allows me to break away from everyday life and meet new people. It’s great to be part of this community.
Janik, 27
VICE: How long did it take to become such a beautiful orc?
Janik: I made it quite fast, in about two months. But I keep adding new stuff. The sword was added this year.
And how much did it cost?
I got lucky and did it quite cheap. I won the teeth, which otherwise would have cost me £350. They were custom-made for me, just like in Hollywood. The mask was also custom – it cost £150, which is still reasonable. All the armour pieces cost around £170. And for the fabric and rags, let’s say £130. So I’m still way under £1,000.
Jonas, 23
VICE: How much time and money did this transformation cost?
Jonas: It took just over a month to sew everything together and make the props. But I spent a lot of money – especially on the foam, fabric and prints. I probably spent around £250.
Kim, 31
VICE: What’s your costume worth?
Kim: I didn’t make everything myself, I bought some of it. But with repairs and all, I’ve already invested more than ten hours and about £350. I’ve always been impressed by cosplay at Gamescom, and today is my first time here.
Kristoffer, 27
VICE: How much did you invest in your cosplay?
Kristoffer: The most expensive part was the Magikarp cards. The fishing rod was very cheap as it’s made from scraps.
What exactly?
Old tent poles, an insulation tube, paper clips, and an old kite string. I worked on the design of the fishing rod for a few days. I reckon it took me about a week.
And how much did it cost?
If I include the Magikarps?
Yes.
Then I’m looking at a total of a little over £130.
Do you have other characters in your cosplay portfolio?
Yes, of course. I’ve cosplayed characters like Mihawk Dulacre from One Piece and even a Nazgûl from The Lord of the Rings.
But the Fisherman has always fascinated me. Anyone who’s played Pokémon would know him. He just stands there with six Magikarps, takes up a lot of your time in the game, but gives you no money or experience. He’s just annoying and appears in almost every Pokémon title. So I thought it would be an original and niche cosplay, as a joke.
Lea, 22
VICE: How much time and money did you pour into this?
Lea: I would say around two months and £350. The leg armour took the longest.
Is this your only cosplay?
No, I have many more – mostly related to anime and manga. I started with My Hero Academia, I cosplayed Ochako and Deku. Then I moved on to Mitsuri in Demon Slayer. And then Caitlyn from League of Legends.
Marco, 32
VICE: Why did you choose this character?
Marco: I’ve played a lot of Dead by Daylight, and I wanted to create a cosplayer to assist other cosplayers. In the game, you have items like first aid kits or toolboxes. I brought one just like that, and it’s filled with repair stuff for cosplayers.
How much time and money did you put into it?
More than ten hours for the outfit, but the generator behind me took like 400 hours. Everything is very low-budget.
What is your favourite thing about cosplaying?
I do it for all the people who get super excited when they see you and say, “Oh my God, that’s Dwight from Dead by Daylight!” Then I can chat with them. The joy it sparks, it’s just so awesome.
Sven, 25
VICE: How much was your outfit?
Sven: The surfboard cost me £250 and with the rest I’m almost at £450.
How much time did you spend on it?
Almost a whole year. The tank and the surfboard are DIY, and I had to rebuild the surfboard multiple times. I bought pretty much everything else because I can’t sew – it’s just not for me.
Why did you choose this character?
I was influenced by the streamer ProxyGinger three years ago. At one point he cosplayed Surfer Singed, and I thought, “I can make something better than his.” So I tried, and it is indeed better.
