[johnwatson11218]

A good game is supposed to be "easy to learn and hard to master". I think software abstractions should have this property as well. Too often the next "fix" in a long chain of failed ideas in overly engineered software feels like the Batman games where one has to complete a mini tutorial to learn to use the "bat-whatever" for a single application/puzzle. Contrast this with the Borderlands franchise, I can learn to play Borderlands in 5 minutes and explore the skills tree and whatnot at my leisure if at all. You hear about "Deus ex machina" as a lazy trait in writing, but it is commonplace in enterprise software. Load Bearing Abstractions.

[elanning]

I know the feeling. I like to picture it as a kitchen, and those “bat-whatever” gadgets are like those silly infomercial cooking tools that are only good for one specific thing. Meanwhile the good abstractions are like a nice knife, that can be used in so many different contexts.