[Proziam]

Fundamentals can be hard to define concretely because they can even underly the principles of how people talk about playing the game. Take, for example, the age-old advice in chess "control the center." To an absolute novice, this is interpreted as 'have your pieces in the center.' To more experienced players control can be more fluid. In some cases, it's as much about protecting a position as it is about occupying it.

To give an example from a game I love dearly: Halo. The number one fundamental isn't aim, or knowing sick trick nades, or masterful timing of power weapons. It's positioning. Positioning controls where your opponents respawn, it controls where your team respawns, and it is the single most impactful part of "map control." Good aim means nothing if you stand in the wrong places at the wrong times. Power weapons are useless if you get yourself back-smacked by opponents getting split-spawned that you weren't aware of.

Fundamentals are (somewhat) unique to a game, and they typically reveal themselves either once you've intuitively started applying them, or through thoughtful analysis.