When I read "why so many programs don't work straightforward these days" I can tell you really haven't done any "serious" programming. Only speaking for games, writting them for the PC is tricky business. You have multiple OS's, you have different processors, you have different monitor cards to consider. Some companies decide to only support certain cards. Some try to support as many as possible. Some are moving towards the gaming boxes as they now can code to a set criteria.

"Complexity" seems to be an issue for you. Yet you don't get the picture that such games usually involve a team of people who work on them for a long time. Those of us that try on our own, don't have the finanical resources of Microsoft. As such they try as best as they can.

People that write "complex" games tend to want to make money off them. That is why Perl is not a desired vehicle as you can't protect the source code. The games that exist are by fans who decided "Hey I bet I can" Be happy you can see source code.

Finally, You have to get off the "complex" requirement. You don't have the background to decipher what is going on. You have to learn what is involved so you can ask the right questions. Baby steps are required lad. All the great game writers had rather simple games in the beginning.