Most of my "serious" games are centered around combat, like Etehfowr Against and the Chainsaw man proto-type I made. Growing up, I'd play fighting games like marvel vs capcom 3 and skullgirls and action games like Hulk 2003 or Castle Crashers or Devil May Cry 1 (on easy! I was 10 Y.O). Fighting games are very apparent in how combat is based around controlling the space. In fact, I would say that they are the best games to get you to understand this concept. Zoners shoot projectiles which covers up space. Grapplers reward players that move aggressively towards their opponents.
What if I told you I didn't really understand combat as "controlling space" until I played Brutal Legend?