Mr. Collie, if that is not your real name, I am a fan of your work and I am only a rookie prose writer myself so I am truly sorry if what I'm about type seems disrespectful, but what is good writing if it is not concise writing? You say a throw away line in a game is worse than a throw away line in a movie, and I don't think it is. Good storytelling is when every line in a novel, every scene in a play or movie is there only when it furthers the story. This does not mean I consider Hemingway to be the greatest storyteller known to man, frankly I've never read his stuff because it sounds uninteresting to me, but being concise MEANS ejecting the superfluous, and it should be done regardless of medium. Of course, what is and isn't superfluous depends on the medium for storytelling used. A long, detailed description of a house in a novel is often superfluous. Unless it is really vital to the story, the number and type of light fixtures in the house aren't really important. But if you present this story as a film, the number and type of light fixtures would become important as the set dressing. If the mansion of a wealthy family is shown to have a single, bare bulb as the only lighting in the dining room, that will influence how the story is told. It's incongruous and unexpected, the audience will expect it to be meaningful or important, not that the set designer forgot to get a chandelier. Making sure every detail is right is now important. But, if you had a chandelier in dining room and had a two minute shot of just the chandelier in the middle of the scene that would be just as bad as a long description in the novel. It would not be concise. Video games should also be concise, but not just as regards dialog, because that's not the only way the story is told. For example, in a game like Crazy Taxi or Grand Theft Auto you drive around large, open ended urban areas. But do they really need to get larger and larger with each game? Do you really need another street lined with shops you can't enter that looks just like the other streets lined with shops you can't enter? I mean, does it really add to story, or even the gameplay? Level designs should be concise, just as much as the dialog should. Of course, that's just my opinion, as an outsider and amateur.