"Game" is pretty vague. A first person shooter is a game, so is a top-down racer, as well as turn-based wargames.
Push/Pull is the establishment of the objectives and applies to pretty much everything. How you go about the objectives varies by genre, so we might have to narrow down a specific type of game, or do a comparrison of genres. A FPS is not a game of Monopoly (although that certainly would be interesting!) :-D
Also, realize that control is not specific to a single entity. There's something thrilling about moving an army of 500 people with the click of a mouse.
GUI design also counts a LOT, and game developers understand that far more than application developers! That must be why I hate windowed games so much. :-)
A good way to learn all the little pieces is to compare an original game to its sequel, especially if more than one developer was involved. Comparing Dungeon Keeper (my recent re-addiction) to Dungeon Keeper 2 reveals a lot of stuff. I could write a book on why I love Dungeon Keeper, and HATE the sequel.
