michiel hildebrand

XIMPEL, the eXtensible Interactive Media Player for Entertainment and Learning, is a platform that offers the possibility to create interactive media applications. An intended purpose of XIMPEL is to design simple educational games. I explore the use of minigames, simple assignments that can be used to challenge the player, check their knowledge and help to memorize important content. In my research I investigate four aspects of minigames in XIMPEL. How should minigames be integrated into XIMPEL to enable creators of interactive media application to easily employ them in their applications? How cab minigames be used in interactive video? What is the effect of minigames on the design of a storygraph from an interactive video? How can minigames support learning? To investigate these questions I created an extension to XIMPEL that allows minigames to be added to the playlist. I introduced templates for several minigames, that authors can use and configure for their purpose. To illustrate how minigames can be used in interactive video, I present Meet Rembrandt, a game I created in XIMPEL. Comparing three parts of the game, I explore what the consequences are on the storygraphs, when minigames are included. I discuss how minigames may encourage players to study and help them acquire knowledge.