With the departure of our previous resident ‘Geeks & Gamers’ columnist, the bazaar team embarked on a nationwide hunt to find an honorary bazaarite to satiate our readers’ thirst for the latest and greatest news about all things that are wonderfully geeky and sensational gaming. Enter 29-year-old graphic designer Patrick Makhoul. You might already know of Patrick’s thorough reviews regularly updated at SixteenBitDreams.com, as well as on his brother’s blog, 248am.com.

Patrick has been playing video games for as long as he could remember. His earliest gaming memory includes an experience with a Coleco, and he especially appreciated the Super Nintendo, which is a 16-bit console. He said, “I played a lot of great games on it and I have a lot of good memories with it. So even though my blog isn’t strictly about old video games, the 16-bit era is where I started to really get into games, hence the name of my blog.” SixteenBitDreams.com is a place where Patrick could share his thoughts and experiences with games as well as other interesting images or videos, essentially becoming his virtual gaming journal. Besides his blog, the avid Twitter user loves giving out his opinions and reviews online, where he has tweeted bazaar several times with ideas for our monthly “Geeks & Gamers” column long before he agreed to come on board as a columnist! With an equal passion for journalism, his interests diverged on his blog, and also on this month’s issue, where he discusses different games one can enjoy amongst friends.

For someone who grew up with an industry that equally matured to tailor games for adults and children alike, Patrick believes that ‘gaming’ isn’t a “small” club anymore. He explained, “I see gaming as more of an art. I love it because it’s an ever-evolving genre that brings a lot of people happiness and enjoyment. It’s disappointing when I hear people put down video games because they consider it a waste of time, you’re denying yourself a form of enjoyment.” He believes that the gaming scene in Kuwait is extremely open to new changes, mirroring what’s happening in the rest of world, “You don’t just see parents buying games for their kids, you see parents buying games for themselves. You also have gamers who love video games finding different ways of expressing that love for their hobby. For instance, you have the Lucky Generation Gamers (luckygg.com) who are a bunch of guys that have their own podcast. The competitive gaming scene on the other hand is still young, tournaments pop up here and there but they don’t tend to be well advertised or they tend to be poorly put together.”

Besides gaming, Patrick loves photography and design, watching movies, football and reading. If this bonafide geek could lead a different lifestyle, he easily sees himself inside the kitchen as a chef. He dreams of simply enjoying life, and concluded,“I want to play all the games that interest me, eat new kinds of food, travel to all the places that I can, take as many photographs as I can, and finally to design as many cool logos, album covers, book covers and posters as I can.”

How would your mother describe you in one word?

Thick headed.

How would you describe your mother in one word?

Caring.

What is the most spontaneous thing you’ve done?

Buying a plane ticket to Japan.

What word in the English or Arabic language do you wish you had invented?

Formidable. It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?

Where would you like to live? What is your dream retirement location?

I wouldn’t mind living in a place like Seattle or San Francisco, but I’d want to retire to a city like Kyoto.

What is the first famous quote that comes to mind?

“The unreal is more powerful than the real, because nothing is as perfect as you can imagine it” – Chuck Palahniuk.

What do you miss about your childhood?

I remember getting so excited about summer vacations, now I just hate the weather.

What animal best describes the kind of partner you’d be interested in?

A cat, I guess?

Describe your handshake in one word?

Pretty average!

What is the toughest part of your character?

My patience, it takes a lot to annoy or frustrate me.

Who is your favorite historical figure?

I think one of the most interesting people to read about is Nikola Tesla.

What in the world do you least desire?

Power. I don’t get why people would want it.

What do you think is lacking in the world, which if there was more of, would make the world better?

Empathy and patience.

Why do you think most girls/guys like you?

I think my laid-back nature helps people feel comfortable around me and I can be a good listener.

Finish this sentence: “Happiness is a thing called…”

Pizza.

For more about Patrick, you can find him on Twitter @Pat_Makhoul or visit www.sixteenbitdreams.com .