Yesterday I was reading a new interview about the new Furyu game Monark, which brought in former staff members responsible for older Shin Megami Tensei games. The scenario writer Fuyuki Hayashi had some interesting tidbits to say about how the game approaches the concept of Psychology, and that it’s more closely related to Adler than Jung, so I wanted to expand on the two of them, and analyze how the upcoming game could approach this new subject in its unique way.
A comparison of Freud, Jung and Adler
Sigmund Freud attracted many new theorists , referred to neo-Freudians, who generally agreed with Freud that childhood experiences matter, but deemphasized sex, focusing more on the social environment and effects of culture on personality. Two of those notable neo-Freudians include Alfred Adler and Carl Jung. Weather it’s Jung’s analytical psychology or Adler’s individual psychology, both their theories seek to describe what factors contribute to the development, nurture and shapes of one’s personality.
Alfred Adler, was the first major theorist to break away from Freud, and subsequently founded a school of psychology called individual psychology. He proposed the concept of the inferiority complex, which refers to our feelings, and how they don’t measure up to the standards of others or society. It was a drastic difference from Freud who believed we were motivated by sexual urges, and Adler believed those feelings of inferiority are what drive people to gain superiority, and it controls all our thoughts and emotions.
Adler also believed in the importance of social connections, and in seeing childhood growth emerging through social development rather than the sexual stages Freud outlined. “The happiness of mankind lies in working together” is what he used to say, and he emphasized that motivations happen consciously, not unconsciously, since he believed the three social tasks (described as careers, friendships, and love) are known and can be pursued, and the character can be shaped and molded, through choice and hard work.
Carl Jung, on the other hand, thought Freud’s concept of a personal unconscious to be incomplete, and in addition to it proposed the idea of a collective unconscious. Things like mental patterns, or memory traces which are common to all of us. Ancestral memories and universal themes that are locked inside each of us, and expressed through art, culture and dreams, in addition to various common experiences we all have in some way or another such as facing death, becoming independent or striving for mastery.
Jung believed that through biology, each person is handed down the same themes and the character archetypes, and the task of understanding and integrating these unconscious archetypal aspects of the self is part of the self-realization process. He believed that past events are not the single constitution of our characters unlike Freud, but instead anticipated the humanistic movement with its emphasis on self-actualization and orientation toward the future.
For more information about the Japanese approach to the concept of self, as opposed to the western approach, check this article here.
The Future is Control
The goal of Monark, according to the developer, is to make you feel in control.
The visual design of the characters in this title is based on a motif of “chess pieces” with the main character as the “king,” and there are even parts of the game where players can battle more effectively by taking positioning into consideration. Hayashi also calls it a story about “defying the irrational“, and many of the traits or “Egos” in his characters are desires that work differently in a structured society, instead of repressed urges or unconscious wills.
Adler’s Psychology is according to the writer, is what separates Monark from Persona games and other games in the Shin Megami Tensei series conceptualized around Jung’s archetypes and the collective unconscious. Here you look for a sense of accomplishment and control, instead of facing with your inside self. You already work with others in a continuing process of defining yourself, and player’s input will be an integral part of this.
The story of Monark also is intend for a mature audience, as it takes place in a school where an anomaly is occurring due to a connection with the spirit world. People will die, go insane, and there will be lots of bitter and dark developments. The psychology of characters and the theme of human “ego” will be very important and defining in this journey, and the feelings behind these concepts are visually conveyed as well. It has a strong appeal and it’s currently one of our most awaited games of 2022.