The Steet Magician

While working on the UI for a trading interface these past few days, the street vendor’s call of “One dollar for two kilograms” keeps echoing in my head. This bizarre feeling must have some connection, so I decided to write about it.

These past few days, while tinkering with the UI for a trading interface, the street vendors’ cries of “One dollar for two kilograms” keep looping in my head. This weird sensation must mean something, so I figured I’d jot it down.

There’s this grape, “Sunshine Rose,” originally from Japan, popping up locally this year. Seven years ago, its price was so outrageous it scared people off. The first time I tried it, “out of this world” doesn’t even cut it—each grape felt like falling deeper into some delicious abyss.

Thanks to China’s imports and local cultivation, the price has been dropping year by year. On a recent trip to Japan, I checked the price there—still through the roof. But back in China, I hear vendors hollering “One dollar for two kilograms”

I squinted at the price scrawled on their little blackboard, feeling like I’d slipped into an alternate reality. Is this not straight-up wizardry?

It jogs my memory of a trading game where a scarce item forced me to cough up way more than it was worth to seal a deal. That left me with this gut-punch sense of scarcity. For ages afterward, whenever I saw that item, I’d get this itch to buy it, even if I didn’t need it anymore.

It hit me: that saying, “feelings transcend time and space,” is real. At certain moments, those emotions come rushing back. I can picture it—every trading experience carries the baggage of countless past moments, blurring the lines between game worlds and real life, creating this flow of feelings.

To me, no designer can hijack a player’s mind. The feelings that hit hard? They’re sparked by events tapping into real, lived experiences. Like those street vendors with their “One dollar for two kilograms” chant—it’s the ultimate siren song. In a way, they’re master magicians, waving their wands to make the dream of fruit freedom come alive.