Vim's normal mode keybindings all correspond to a function/command of the same name.
For example, i enters insert mode, dd deletes a line, f moves forward a char, etc.
You can record a macro by pressing q followed by another key, followed by any string of keystrokes, and ended by pressing q again.
So qbxxxq would save a macro to the b register that deletes three characters. You play it back with @b.
The neat thing is that macros are recorded in plain text, so pressing "bp would print the contents of the b register (xxx).
You can even write out the keystrokes of a new macro, then yank (copy) that text into a register with y"b (for the b register), and pay it back like normal (by pressing @b).
Anyway, the trouble with this ingenious system is that x isn't just the delete key, it's the delete function. You can map another key to do the x function; but at the end of the day, there's no getting away from the original function names, and therefore no way to get away from the original keybindings.
I've tried remapping keys in vim, and I always end up with an unusable mess, because I have to remap every key or lose access to functionality, and remapping some functions isn't as easy as you might expect.
I would rather, as a user, start from the ground up and define my own normal mode bindings, with regular function names like delete-char() or whatever.
I would really like a modal editor with a more customizable "normal mode" layout.