Editing XBill

{{Short description|1994 video game}}
{{for|the genus of birds|Crossbill}}

{{Infobox software
| name = XBill
| logo = XBill.png
| screenshot = Gnome-xbill level 20 gnome-games 1.4.0.3 sshot20040803.png
| caption = Gnome XBill level 20
| author = Brian Wellington and [[Matías Duarte]]
| released = {{Start date and age|1994|07|21|df=no}}
| latest release version =  2.1
| latest release date = {{Start date and age|2001|11|15|df=no}}
| repo = {{URL|https://sourceforge.net/projects/xbill/}}
| programming language = [[C (programming language)|C]]
| platform = [[Linux]], [[Microsoft Windows]], [[Mac OS X]], [[OpenMoko]], [[Android OS|Android]], [[Maemo]], [[iOS]], [[FreeBSD]], [[AmigaOS]], [[BeOS]], [[HaikuOS]], [[OpenBSD]], [[NetBSD]], [[OS/2]], [[Oracle Solaris|Solaris]], [[OpenSolaris]].
| genre = [[Arcade game]]
| license = [[GPL]]<ref name="fedoralegal"/> ([[Emailware]])<ref name="debianlegal">[http://metadata.ftp-master.debian.org/changelogs/main/x/xbill/xbill_2.1-8_copyright xbill_2.1-8_copyright] on debian.org</ref>
| website = [http://www.xbill.org/ xbill.org]
}}

'''''XBill''''' is an arcade style game for the [[X Window System]]. The game features a bespectacled character known as "Bill" (a spoof of [[Bill Gates]]). The goal is to prevent Bill's legions of clones from installing "Wingdows", a [[computer virus|virus]] "cleverly designed to resemble a popular [[operating system]]" (a parody of [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]]), on a variety of computers running other operating systems. It was very popular among Linux gamers at the end of the 1990s, beating out ''[[Quake (video game)|Quake]]'', though not ''[[Quake II]]'', as ''[[Linux Journal]]'' reader's favourite Linux game in 1999.<ref name="readerschoice"/>

== Gameplay ==
The operating systems are represented by logos shown on the computer screens. The computers the player must defend include [[personal computer|PCs]] running [[Linux]] and [[BSD]], [[SPARCstation]]s with [[Oracle Solaris|Solaris]], [[Silicon Graphics|SGI]] [[IRIX]] workstations, [[Macintosh|Apple Macintosh]], [[PalmPilot]]s, and [[NeXTcube]]s. When Bill installs Wingdows onto a computer, its current operating system is placed beside it.

Using the [[computer mouse|mouse]], the player must squash Bill and drag discarded operating systems back to their computers. At the end of the level, points are accrued for every computer that is still running its original operating system.

On later levels, computers are connected to each other with [[Local area network|LAN]] cables, causing Wingdows to spread faster. Some computers may also catch fire. This can be cured by dragging buckets of [[water]] onto them.

== History ==
The game was written by Brian Wellington and [[Matias Duarte]] in summer 1994.<ref name=xbill>[http://www.xbill.org/ history] on xbill.org</ref> Originally written in [[C++]], the code base was later with version 2.1 [[Refactoring|refactored]] to [[C (programming language)|C]].<ref>[http://www.xbill.org/xbill21.html xbill21] on xbill.org (2001)</ref>

The game was later in the end 1990s, deliberately ironically [[porting|ported]] to [[Microsoft Windows]].<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/19990508110858/http://www.azzit.de:80/xbill/ XBill for Wingdows]}}</ref> Ports to many other platforms as [[macOS|Mac OS X]],<ref>[http://mac.softpedia.com/get/Games/XBill.shtml XBill (Mac)] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928035857/http://mac.softpedia.com/get/Games/XBill.shtml |date=September 28, 2011 }} - [[Softpedia]]</ref> [[Openmoko]], [[Android (operating system)|Android]], and [[Maemo]] phones followed due to its open source nature.<ref>[http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/XBill XBill] - [[OpenMoko]] Wiki</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://maemo-apps.org/content/show.php/Xbill?content=44089 |title=XBill Maemo version |access-date=2010-05-05 |archive-date=2010-11-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101125185428/http://maemo-apps.org/content/show.php/Xbill?content=44089 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Re-implementations of the game also exist.<ref>[http://www.k-i-s.net/article.php?article=36 Kill XBill] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050306070437/http://www.k-i-s.net/article.php?article=36 |date=March 6, 2005 }}</ref>

In 2009, the project was resurrected as XBill-NG,<ref>[http://xbill-ng.tuxfamily.org/wiki/Main_Page XBill-NG Wiki]</ref> similar in concept to [[Lincity|Lincity-NG]].

== Reception and impact ==
''XBill'' was very popular among Linux gamers at the end of the 1990s, beating out ''[[Quake (video game)|Quake]]'', though not ''[[Quake II]]'', as ''[[Linux Journal]]'' readers' favourite Linux game in 1999.<ref name="readerschoice">[http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/3731?page=0,3 1999 Reader's Choice Awards] - [[Linux Journal]]</ref>

The game holds four out of five stars on [[the Linux Game Tome]]<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20100619114225/http://www.happypenguin.org/show?XBill XBill]}} - [[The Linux Game Tome]]</ref> and was noted by DesktopLinux.com.<ref>[http://www.desktoplinux.com/articles/AT4744333774.html WinIndependence Day Essay - DesktopLinux.com] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100201073623/http://www.desktoplinux.com/articles/AT4744333774.html |date=February 1, 2010 }}</ref>

Despite its status, it is not always packaged with [[Linux distribution]]s due to its "disparaging" content: for instance [[Fedora Project|Fedora]] does not integrate it<ref name="fedoralegal">[http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/legal/2009-February/000553.html XBill Legal Opinion Required] - [[Fedora Project]] (February 2009)</ref> while [[Debian]] does.<ref name="debianlegal"/>

Somewhat illustrating its notoriety, graphics from the game are used on the website of the 2009 [[Free Software Foundation]] campaign [[Free Software Foundation anti-Windows campaigns|Windows 7 Sins]].<ref>[http://en.windows7sins.org/ Windows 7 Sins website]</ref>

==See also==
*[[Neko (software)]]
*[[xTux]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
{{commons}}
* {{Official|http://www.xbill.org/}}
* [http://freecode.com/projects/xbill/ XBill] - [[Freecode]]

[[Category:1994 video games]]
[[Category:Open-source video games]]
[[Category:Unix games]]
[[Category:Linux games]]
[[Category:Classic Mac OS games]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Bill Gates]]
[[Category:Maemo games]]
[[Category:MacOS games]]
[[Category:Parody video games]]
[[Category:Video games developed in the United States]]
[[Category:Windows games]]
[[Category:Software wars]]
[[Category:Android (operating system) games]]
[[Category:IOS games]]
[[Category:Video games based on real people]]