This paper presents a cognitive model of how interactive multimedia authoring (IMA) affect novices' cognition in object-oriented programming. This model was generated through an empirical study of first year computer science students at the university level being engaged in interactive multimedia authoring of a role-playing game. Clinical interviews were conducted to observe students constructing their own video games. Five cognitive processes and factors were observed. During interactive multimedia authoring, it was found that the students explored for resources that scaffold understanding while changing their levels of awareness of the "bigger picture" and ability for higher-level thinking, and constant refinement of mental models through refinement of their games within the problem space. The findings also suggest that these processes and factors stem from three levels of interaction during the authoring process: receiving information at the Feedback Level, working with the tools at the Interaction Level, and changing cognition at the Cognition Level. These five cognitive processes and factors were mapped onto three levels of interaction to form one model: The Cognitive Model of Interactive Multimedia Authoring (CM-IMA). (Contains 4 tables, 3 figures and 1 endnote.)