If well applied, things like animation in UI isn't superfluous. I would agree that a lot of animation in software is superfluous, but that doesn't mean that it

If well applied, things like animation in UI isn't superfluous. I would agree that a lot of animation in software is superfluous, but that doesn't mean that it has to be. As far as developer choice goes, that's going to depend on what gets that particular individual fired up. Personally speaking, it's the possibility to produce something that's both polished and thoughtful on top of being highly functional. For me a project where the human interface is to be phoned in sounds like a miserable slog.