Mike Mearls, RPG Group Manager for the D&D Research & Development, suggested in his weekly column that D&D will evolve toward minimalism with respect to its overarching mechanics system.

Saving throws, skill checks, attack rolls, defenses... So many mechanics boil down to your six ability scores. But those ability scores are rarely directly called upon.

Mearls said:

"You already have a Constitution score. While your Constitution modifier can factor into a save or defense, why bother with that step? Why not just use your Constitution score as a defense and your modifier as a saving throw?

(...)

The saving throw mechanic, either labeled according to the incoming attack or the target defense, just seems to step in the way. Our nice, fairly universal mechanic can handle that work, but we instead bring in a specialist sub-contractor to tackle it."

I love that sub-contractor analogy, and I'm feeling positive about this new direction. Anything that streamlines the mechanics without sacrificing meaningful options is a step forward.