Screaming for London is one of those games that touches on art, taking a modern, everyday item (an old pay phone, in this case) and turns it into a really interesting concept.
Which then becomes a physical item that’s displayed at some showcases, if you’re lucky enough to find it.
Inspired by the various telephones that are dotted around London, Screaming for London takes this out-of-date payphone and turns it into something that everyone would probably need to use in the modern day.
Instead, this installation puts a screaming phone in these booths; an area for you to pick up the phone, scream and then get your scream rated. The idea is that the government has put these phones all throughout the city so that people can scream out their emotions. The telephone gives you some numbers to play through, categorizing your scream; work, love life, education, and social media are all categories that you can scream about. Once you have logged your scream, you can then hang up the phone and go about your day.
There is something about designing a system that allows you to scream, be rated, and then go back to your regular life that perfectly encapsulates most daily lives. The developer also made posters, much like the ones you see by the Mayor of London in London, for this screaming machine. I got the chance to scream myself while the game was displayed at Games Library Night.
Screaming for London doesn’t have a website, but you can follow the developer, Rachel Clancy, on Twitter and Instagram.