<s>
The	B-Application
Quill	I-Application
is	O
a	O
program	O
to	O
write	O
home	O
computer	O
adventure	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Written	O
by	O
Graeme	O
Yeandle	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
published	O
on	O
the	O
ZX	B-Operating_System
Spectrum	I-Operating_System
by	O
Gilsoft	O
in	O
December	O
1983	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
available	O
to	O
the	O
general	O
public	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
used	O
by	O
several	O
games	O
companies	O
to	O
create	O
best-selling	O
titles	O
;	O
over	O
450	O
commercially	O
published	O
titles	O
for	O
the	O
ZX	B-Operating_System
Spectrum	I-Operating_System
were	O
written	O
using	O
The	B-Application
Quill	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Yeandle	O
has	O
stated	O
that	O
the	O
inspiration	O
for	O
The	B-Application
Quill	I-Application
was	O
an	O
article	O
in	O
the	O
August	O
1980	O
issue	O
of	O
Practical	O
Computing	O
by	O
Ken	O
Reed	O
in	O
which	O
Reed	O
described	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
a	O
database	O
to	O
produce	O
an	O
adventure	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
Yeandle	O
wrote	O
one	O
database-driven	O
adventure	O
game	O
,	O
Timeline	O
,	O
for	O
Gilsoft	O
,	O
he	O
realised	O
that	O
a	O
database	O
editor	O
was	O
needed	O
,	O
and	O
it	O
was	O
this	O
software	O
which	O
became	O
The	B-Application
Quill	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
the	O
original	O
ZX	B-Operating_System
Spectrum	I-Operating_System
version	O
was	O
ported	O
to	O
the	O
Amstrad	B-Device
CPC	I-Device
,	O
Commodore	O
64	O
,	O
Atari	B-Device
8-bit	I-Device
family	I-Device
,	O
and	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
and	O
Oric	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1985	O
Neil	O
Fleming-Smith	O
ported	O
The	B-Application
Quill	I-Application
to	O
the	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
and	O
Acorn	B-Device
Electron	I-Device
computers	O
for	O
Gilsoft	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
not	O
credited	O
in	O
the	O
article	O
,	O
Chris	O
Hobson	O
submitted	O
a	O
patch	O
to	O
Crash	O
magazine	O
which	O
allowed	O
the	O
Spectrum	O
version	O
to	O
save	O
to	O
a	O
Microdrive	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Quill	I-Application
only	O
allowed	O
for	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
text-only	B-Application
adventures	O
,	O
using	O
a	O
text	O
interpretation	O
process	O
known	O
as	O
a	O
verb	O
–	O
noun	O
parser	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
an	O
add-on	O
called	O
The	B-Application
Illustrator	I-Application
was	O
made	O
to	O
let	O
the	O
user	O
include	O
graphics	O
in	O
the	O
adventures	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Quill	I-Application
was	O
generally	O
very	O
well	O
received	O
by	O
the	O
computer	O
press	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
of	O
its	O
release	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sinclair	O
User	O
were	O
somewhat	O
initially	O
less	O
enthusiastic	O
,	O
saying	O
"	O
no	O
package	O
,	O
even	O
if	O
it	O
is	O
brilliant	O
in	O
the	O
production	O
of	O
games	O
using	O
the	O
sausage	O
machine	O
technique	O
,	O
will	O
provide	O
an	O
answer	O
to	O
properly	O
machine-coded	O
and	O
original	O
games	O
"	O
,	O
although	O
later	O
in	O
1984	O
they	O
said	O
"	O
The	B-Application
Quill	I-Application
produces	O
programs	O
on	O
a	O
par	O
with	O
handwritten	O
commercial	O
programs	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Quill	I-Application
was	O
awarded	O
"	O
Best	O
Utility	O
"	O
in	O
the	O
CRASH	O
Readers	O
Awards	O
1984	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
the	O
success	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
,	O
a	O
second	O
generation	O
Quill	O
was	O
produced	O
with	O
more	O
capabilities	O
and	O
sold	O
under	O
the	O
name	O
Professional	B-Application
Adventure	I-Application
Writer	I-Application
for	O
the	O
ZX	B-Operating_System
Spectrum	I-Operating_System
and	O
CP/M	B-Application
range	O
.	O
</s>
