Wow, that was fast! A BDLA fan site… and not bad looking either.
Check it out
Also, stay tuned, we’ll be launching the official BDLA website soon.
In order to help build awareness during E3 we decided to hand out “terrorist weapons”. These were nail clippers that were manufactured in mainland China, had our BDLA logo and “BDLA 9000” logo afixed to them, and then shipped to Hong Kong. (See the image below) From there I lugged 130 pounds of them to the US in my checked baggage. I had to separate the load into two bags, so each bag ended up at 65lbs. 130lbs in one bad was like trying to pull a dead body around inside of a suitcase!
In Hong Kong no one even looked twice at the two unmarked 65lb brown cardboard boxes containing the deadly cargo. Some guy slapped some “HEAVY” tags on the bags and waved me on. Once I got the to US it was a different story. After collecting luggage I passed through customs. That went something like this:
TSA Guy: You live in Hong Kong. Me: Yes
TSA Guy: You’re a game designer: Me: Yes
TSA: Guy: You’re coming to promote your latest game title: Me: Yes
TSA Guy: And what are you bringing into the country? Me: 130lbs of nail clippers.
At that point the TSA guy did a sort of double take and then demanded that I explain myself.
I felt it would be unwise to tell him the truth, that the nail clippers were used as a weapon in the game and that the whole joke was in the game precisely because of the TSA. I tried to avoid the subject, just saying they were for promotion. He was having none of it.
Ultimately he questioned me into a corner and I had no choice but to fully explain what was going on. “They are used as a weapon in our game, the whole thing is a joke on the TSA, etc, etc.”
I thought for sure I was going to end up on a plane to Guantanamo Bay.
Instead, the guy took a beat, looked at me funny and then began to laugh. He asked if he could have a nail clipper.
Buoyed by this experience I made the mistake giving the second customs guy a straight answer about my name.
TSA Guy #2: Huh, that’s a cool name, how’d you get that?
Me: My mom smoked pot.
He neither laughed, nor asked me for some pot. He just glared at me and told me to move on.
Well, at least one guy working at the airport has a sense of humor.
