La Rueda del Cuy
Game Designer
La Rueda del Cuy is a fast-paced betting game that reimagines the classic American roulette with a vibrant and colorful aesthetic. Featuring fun animations and a unique visual style, it delivers a fresh, entertaining, and accessible experience for all kinds of players while keeping the excitement of every spin and bet.
Genre: Gambling, American Roulette
Platform: Web-Mobile
Developed for: Soluciones IES
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
La Rueda del Cuy is a creative reinterpretation of the classic American roulette game, designed to deliver a fresh, engaging, and culturally inspired experience. Instead of the traditional roulette cylinder, the game features a hamster-style wheel where a small cuy (a traditional Andean rodent) runs to spin the numbered and colored segments, determining the outcome of each bet.
At Soluciones IES, we aim to bring Latin American culture into the world of digital gambling. Through authentic themes and innovative mechanics, we transform traditional games into more vibrant, playful, and engaging experiences for all kinds of players.
GAME REFERENCES
The main inspiration behind La Rueda del Cuy comes from a traditional street gambling game played in the Andean regions of Latin America. In this game, a small rodent is placed inside a dark container positioned at the center of a circular arrangement of numbered boxes. Players place their bets on the number they believe the rodent will choose. Once all bets are in, the animal is released, and the winning number is determined by the box it enters.
Design Process
During the design process of La Rueda del Cuy, I encountered several challenges related to both technical aspects and the preferences of the target audience.
The game had to meet two main requirements: it needed to function as a traditional American roulette and be inspired by a street gambling game from the Andes, in which a guinea pig chooses the winning slot. However, our target audience is known for being resistant to change and strongly attached to familiar game mechanics.
In addition, we didn’t have the proper tools to fully recreate the original reference game as it was presented. Because of this, we had to adopt a creative approach to reinterpret that experience.
As part of the process, we researched the behaviour and preferences of frequent roulette players. This helped us identify the key elements they value most in this game and ensure we preserved them in our version. In doing so, we were able to introduce a fresh visual and thematic proposal without altering the core experience that makes roulette engaging for this audience.
Numbers Belt and Hamster Wheel
The research revealed that players tend to focus more on the ball than on the roulette wheel itself. Watching the ball spin creates a strong sense of anticipation and delivers a burst of adrenaline that keeps them fully engaged. Interestingly, players were not looking for a fast-paced experience. Instead, they preferred a slower, more suspenseful game that builds tension and keeps them guessing about the outcome.
Based on these insights, and taking into account the technical limitations of developing a fully 3D game, I decided to rethink the traditional roulette concept entirely. The solution was to transform it into a conveyor belt powered by a guinea pig running inside a hamster wheel. The core idea was to replicate the emotional impact of the spinning ball through the movement of the guinea pig, creating a fun and engaging way to maintain the suspense as the conveyor belt slowly reveals the outcome.
TEAM MEMBERS
This project was designed and developed through my time at SOLUCIONES IES.
I want to thank my fabulous team there...
JEFERSON ALVAREZ
Game Programmer and Game Designer
SEBASTIAN PALACIO
2D Artist
CRISTIAN GALEANO
Mathematician
JUAN PABLO BEDOYA
3D Artis and UI/UX Designer
KEVIN VELASQUEZ
Gameplay Programmer
DANIEL DE LOS RIOS
2D Animator
CARLOS AGUIRRE
Gameplay Programmer
All Rights Are Reserved To Soluciones IES
This game was designed by me during my time in Soluciones IES, all rights are reserved to Inteligent Electronic Solutions S.A.S