Student-developed ‘NotBillClinton’ app tests gamers’ political photo prowess

This article was written by Paula Ramirez and featured in the Belmont Vision

It’s election season in America. No matter where one turns, there’s someone vying for attention, desperate to prove they’re the best suited to run the country.

In the midst of such a momentous time of transition, average Americans are bombarded with candidate after candidate, yet they’re left with no way of answering the most pressing question.

The one that really matters.

Is that Bill Clinton?

Stefan Theofilos and Spencer Lathrop lived only an hour away from each other for their entire adolescent lives but never met. It wasn’t until just over year ago at Belmont University that a fateful icebreaker brought them together.

“Tell us something interesting about yourself,” their business management professor asked innocently, thinking it’d be just another slew of near death experiences and hidden talents.

“My name is Spencer Lathrop, and I just started a web design company,” said Lathrop.

Little did he know that one sentence would be the start of a partnership between Theofilos and fellow classmate Theofilo, who had been looking for a web designer.

It was the beginning of NotBillClinton.

From the moment Theofilos pitched the idea to Lathrope, the he knew they were onto something, said Lathrop.

“It hit me, that’s the type of thing people would tell their friends about. Just because it’s so silly,” said Lathrop.

Not intending to broadcast any political view, the pair was interested in creating a game for lighthearted entertainment.

“It’s cool to see something that I built in the hands of other people and them enjoying it,” said Theofilos.

The app itself boasts a simple design.

Once the game starts, users are presented with pictures of politicians, both notable and obscure. If it’s Clinton, swipe right. If it’s Not Bill, swipe left.

Product Hunt, a website devoted to discovering new apps, tech, and websites, caught wind of the app and featured it on its homepage. The app was the top rated of the day, which lead to a nomination in the WTF Product of the Year category. It was a close race, and though they were ultimately runners up, the app is only on the first update of many.

“The fact that people are playing it makes me want to keep adding features to it,” said Theofilos. The warm reception has lead to talk of future updates, including features like The Kanye 2020 Picture Pack, which is exactly what it sounds like, and Obama Power Up, where swiping up on Obama’s photo awards the player bonus points.

“We’ve gotten really positive feedback just from people thinking it’s funny,” added Lathrop.

Because of Hillary Clinton’s current presidential campaign, the political power couple are in the spotlight once more, so the timing was perfect.

Lathrop and Theofilos have passed the app along to Hilary Clinton’s marketing team and campaign manager, as well as tweeted to various political figures, and are eagerly awaiting responses.

In the meantime, the app is available for free on the App Store, and new updates are in the works. Maybe one day Bill Clinton himself will stumble upon it, and maybe we will finally be able to clear up who is and who is not Bill Clinton once and for all.

To download the app: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/notbillclinton/id1047292991?mt=8