Interview with Eric Hotz
Designer of the Canvas Eagles game
It took a little while, but Eric Hotz finally managed to squeeze in a little email interview for us. Eric is the designer of the
Canvas Eagles game,
an evolution of the
Blue Max game that took World War I miniature airplane wargaming to a new level.
Canvas Eagles has got to be the most popular World War I miniature Airplane wargames there is. It seems that I have stumbled across
countless shops where a campaign or pickup game was being played of this great game.
Recently,
Phil Hall and Eric Hots joined forces to produce the latest iteration of
Blue Max/Canvas Eagles. Make sure you try it out,
as it is sure to be a winner.
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Eric Hots also has much to offer the game at his
Hotz Artwork Store, including the awesome
Hotz Mats that we absolutely love.
What do you do for a living? What is your profession?
I work as a freelance Illustrator, Graphic Designer.
How did you get started/interested in wargames/miniature wargaming?
I started miniatures gaming back in April, 1976. I joined the Trumpeter Club in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.
This is probably one of the oldest continuously running miniatures clubs in North America, having been founded in 1964.
At the time I joined, I was the youngest member in the club, but that soon changed as the club became quite popular within
the next two years.
What was the first wargame that you played/owned? How about your first miniatures game?
The first miniatures game I played was a 25mm Napoleonics game. Strangely enough, it was the first and last time I played
Napoleonics. Soon after I bought a copy Avalon Hill's, Luftwaffe , which was soon followed by Richthofen's War.
Were you a fan of board games before switching to miniature gaming? If so, what games did you play? What was/is your favorite?
I started playing miniatures games first. The first board game I played was at the Trumpeter Club, and that was TSR's Dungeon
game -- I still have my original copy. The third board game I bought was Avalon Hill's Trireme, which I still own. My two
main interests in wargaming: Air combat and ancient naval combat.
What got you interested in aviation games? (Had you always been a fan of aviation history, built models, or attend air shows?)
I was always interested in bomber aircraft from a very young age. The four engine bombers really caught my imagination.
Think this started when I watched the TV series, 12 O'Clock High back in the 1960's. We used to play, as kids, with plastic
aircraft models in 1/48th scale -- I used to have a Stuka and a P-47, whereas my friend John had a P-40 Warhawk.
Before developing this game, had you designed/developed other games before?
I used to work for Columbia Games as their illustrator and graphic artist and was often roped into play testing various board
games, most of which were military games. A number of these games never got off the ground, so I ended up working on many,
many games, some of which were never published. I also helped design the Collectible Card game Dixie and Eagles, and I also
illustrated all the card art and designed their packaging and point of display boxes, etc..
What made you want to take on the project? What were your expectations when you started?
The game had a lot of potential, but suffered from being fragmented -- it seemed that it had been rewritten several times
but various people (probably at GDW) who didn't take the time to read through the entire rules nor play the game. It seemed
strange to me that whenever I played the game, I noticed that arguments broke out. This was caused by the rules contradicting
itself or having large holes. For a hex based game, this shouldn't have been. The beauty of hex-based games is that the rules
can be written so that arguments are eliminated.
What difficulties or challenges did you encounter during development?
The biggest challenge was how to add more layers of detail, such as altitudes, but at the same time, making sure the game
didn't bog down. We didn't add anything that would cause the game to lose its speed and in fact, the game ended up playing
faster when we were finished. This was our primary goal in developing it. The last development was introducing the Tailing-Cards,
which got rid of the encumbering tailing chits -- that sped up the game quite a bit.
What were some things that you learned during the development process?
You can't please everyone, which wasn't learnt, but it was reinforced. Several people wanted to add things to the game
that were from other games. Many of these "improvements" only would have slowed the game down. I focused on adding
elements or working on areas that helped to streamlined play. I felt that the speed of play with Blue Max/Canvas Eagles
was its greatest asset. This is probably one of the fastest games you can play. As a result, it was not uncommon that within
a four hour game succession, you could get in as many as 40 turns, which is unheard of for 99% of the wargames published
within the last 25 years. Since the game is suppose to depict aerial combat, speed of play helps to reinforce the player's
vision of air combat.
Since the release of the game, what other projects have you worked on?
Mainly, Roman Seas, 1/300th scale ancient naval, which is due out very shortly. I also published a board/miniatures game,
Gold Town (a wild west gold mining town game), and I am also working on three other games.
What are your future plans? (games, add-ons, etc.)
I am currently working on three new miniatures game, with two of these nearing completion. I am also re-releasing a very old,
originally locally published Sci-Fi game. We played this game many, many years ago. I came across a copy of the game in my
book collection. It was a lot of fun to play, and I happened to know the author, and was still in touch with him. I asked him
if I could update the rules and republish it and he agreed. He then pointed out that he was only one of two authors, and that
I would have to get the OK of the other author. This took a while (five years) as the fellow was a published sci-fi writer and
didn't want his fans contacting him, but I finally tracked him in January 2007 and he gave his approval of my project. Now I
just need to find the time... I am also helping a local game designer publish his Sci-Fi spaceship rules, which should be ready
this year sometime.
Do you attend any Game Conventions?
At this time, I attend local conventions: Trumpeter Salute in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and Enfilade, in Washington
State, USA.
We understand that you are currently working on an updated version of Canvas Eagles in coooperation with Phil
Hall. Can you tell us where you are in the project, and when it might be released?
Hopefully this year sometime. It is a question of getting the time put together to complete it.
Thanks for your responses Eric. Hope to meet you face to face someday.
Johann