  Don't say that America's spy agencies never did anything for
you. They have thoughtfully provided a ready-made template for
designers searching for themes for their next action or strategy
game.  I'm speaking of Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds,
published by the National Intelligence Council, a part of the
Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees
the CIA and other spy agencies.  Global Trends 2030 is the U.S.
intelligence community's forecast of where the world will be 17
years from now.  Whether American policy-makers will bother to
heed these forecasts is another matter, but why shouldn't game
designers (and taxpayers) take advantage of it?  Because a trend
that is significant enough to interest the CIA is probably big
enough to warrant a plot point in a game. For example, in
strategy games as in real life, stronger nations tend to crush
weaker nations. But the report predicts the spread of
"disruptive technologies," such as cyberwarfare, biological
weapons and guided weapons