Many people at all stages of their lives are fascinated by video games. Playing games can be long, difficult, and challenging, but players find it fun and inspiring. It’s hard not to admit that games have social and cultural significance in our society. According to JP Gee (2003), there are learning principles (LP) that are embedded in good video games. But these principles don’t necessarily drive learning. Several factors are necessary for learning to occur in games and perhaps develop intelligences in the semiotic domain of everyday life. Gee teaches that there are thirty-six learning principles that can be found and developed in games.

To explain this, Gee defines games as semiotic domain (SD), which, in turn, is part of the larger SD of everyday life. So to speak, a SD is a certain division of the world (be it a location, practice, field of study, etc.) and can encompass subdomains. For example, first and third person shooter games are a well-defined subdomain of SD games. Introducing the concept of SD to game studios, Gee gives us examples of SD such as rap, modernist paintings, and games in the first-person shooter genre. Gee believes that three things are necessary to learn from a DS: 1) learn to experience the world in different ways, 2) learn to form affiliations with DS members, and 3) learn to obtain the necessary resources for future learning and troubleshooting in the domain as well as in related domains. As we can see, Gee seeks to approximate games to a broader definition of literacy that involves different types of “visual literacy”. Following this notion of literacy, people are literate in a domain only if they are able to recognize and produce meanings in the field. Furthermore, Gee proposes that we think of literacy as intrinsically connected to social practices. In fact, in contemporary culture, articulated language (spoken, gestural, or written) is not the only important communication system. Today, images, symbols, graphs, diagrams, equations, artifacts, and many other visual symbols play a particularly important role in our daily lives. For example, it is important to learn visual literacy to “read” the images in an advertisement. In addition, words and images are juxtaposed or integrated in many ways: in magazines, newspapers, textbooks, software, etc. The images take up more space and have meanings that can be independent of the words in the texts. In this sense, games are multimodal texts. They combine moving images and music with language.

Given the various forms of human activity in the complex society in which we live, it is necessary to develop a new model of intelligence that allows us to embrace a pluralistic vision of intelligence. Howard Gardner’s (1983) influential definition of intelligence was developed using a model of seven basic intelligences known as the theory of multiple intelligences (MI). MI represents a broader and more pragmatic view of human nature. The eight intelligences are defined as the following abilities:
1) use language with competence (linguistics),
2) use logical reasoning in mathematics and science (logical-mathematical),
3) perceive details of the visual-spatial world and manipulate objects in the (spatial) mind,
4) understand, create and enjoy music and musical concepts (musical),
5) use the body skillfully (corporal-kinesthetic);
6) recognize the subtle aspects of the behavior of others and respond appropriately to them (interpersonal),
7) understand one’s own feelings (intrapersonal), and
8) recognize patterns and differences in nature (naturalistic).

These categories or intelligences represent elements that can be found in all cultures, namely music, speech, logic, painting, social interaction, physical expression, inner reflection and appreciation of nature. Thus, unlike a learning style, which is a general approach that the individual can apply equally to any imaginable content, intelligence, for Gardner, is a capacity with its own processes that are oriented to specific content in the world ( for example, musical sounds or spatial patterns).

From this perspective, Gee (2003) and Gardner (1983) value the interaction between learning and the skills present in people’s daily life (culture). So when we thought about the SD approach, developed by Gee, we realized that the interaction between both theories, the SD of everyday life, the largest existing set, where the intelligences meet, encompasses the SD of games. Note that Gardner points out that one of the goals of his endeavor is to examine the educational implications of a theory of multiple intelligences. Considering that, Gee listed thirty-six learning principles present in games, and considering the importance and popularity of games in contemporary culture, it seems interesting to start investigating how learning principles can be related to multiple intelligences. So we discuss here some possibilities of association between these theories. To achieve this, the question we want to address is this: What can the learning principles embodied in good games do for the development of multiple intelligences, which are so important to everyday life? In other words: What is the relationship between these semiotic domains? To answer this, the following research methodology has been used: literature review, website research, game observation, construction of the interaction model between the two learning proposals and analysis of the model.

Gee describes thirty-six learning principles that can be found in games. It should be noted that not all the learning principles listed by the author are necessarily found in one set; there is a possibility that a game transmits one or more of these principles. The analysis shows that to develop one or more intelligences, the student must be immersed in one or more semiotic domains that have the conditions and qualities necessary to facilitate their development. For example: it is useless for an apprentice of a sporting modality to have access to a single modality for the full development of his corporal-kinesthetic intelligence, he needs to have access to several sports, namely, several sub-semiotic domains that are part of it. broader semiotic domain of sports. In addition to that, there are other extrinsic and intrinsic factors (motivation, injuries, proper training materials, etc.) that are important for success in the entire domain, such as a sports modality. Examples of several prominent athletes demonstrate this fact: Formula 1 drivers, MMA fighters, and Olympians. In this sense, our research shows the existence of an insurmountable binomial: without learning principles there are no good games, while without the valorization of a domain in the semiotic domain of everyday life there is no way forward within that domain. Therefore, multiple intelligences cannot be fully developed in certain cultural contexts and learning principles are of no value in these contexts.

Also, interpersonal intelligence is very important in learning. We found that it is associated with thirty of the thirty-six learning principles. Interpersonal intelligence clearly emerges from cooperative work, community participation, large group simulations, dedication to social issues, etc. Precisely, the importance of interpersonal intelligence, as Gardner points out, has been reduced in the contemporary educational scene: sensitivity towards other individuals as individuals and the ability to collaborate with others are less and less important now than in the past. Thus, we believe that the results of the comparison between these theories call into question the ways in which we design and manage education in its various fields. Therefore, we believe that a deeper analysis of the intersection of the theories studied here can help us both in the use of games as a pedagogical proposal and in educational thinking.

The association between both theories seemed productive to us to reflect on games and learning in general. First of all, it should be noted that not all games can promote all learning principles. This is because there are many factors in the semiotic domain of everyday life that can hinder the learning and development of multiple intelligences. And this occurs even when the game conveys the principle of learning or the basic conditions to develop them, which shows a close association between principles and intelligences.

Second, interpersonal intelligence is associated with thirty learning principles. This demonstrates the complexity of learning and consequently shows the challenges that contemporary education must face. In fact, studying the interaction between theories can help us think of new ways of teaching and learning inside and outside of school. It seems that the relevance of Gee is in highlighting the importance of games culturally and for learning, while Gardner’s theory of learning emphasizes the need for favorable conditions (environment, mentors, cultural appreciation, etc.) for the development of skills. . We must remember that skills or intelligences are valued differently between cultures.

We believe that good video games represent, in fact, opportunities for direct and indirect learning of content and skills in the semiotic domain of everyday life, given their intimate link with most intelligences.

Cited work

Howard Gardner. moods. The Theory of Multiple Intelligences (New York: Basic Books, 1983).

James P. Gee. What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy (New York: Palgrave, 2003).