The name I've given the idea is "The Cabal." The name refers to a group of characters in some undetermined, shadowy location, a boardroom and surrounding chambers. Each character has the same face, though they all have distinctive appearances, and each one strongly exhibits a single aspect of a person - Confidence, Cowardice, Violence, Ambition, etc. It's the kind of thing where a character's apperance reflects the characteristic they represent.
These characters, and the setting in which they reside, are the components of some kind of political machination. Alliances are formed and broken, power is seized and lost, and the goal of every character simply seems to be to dominate the central table.
However, while the player is frequently shown this location and the events transpiring within, they do not directly control any of the characters within, nor does any gameplay directly take place there. Instead, the player control an ordinary person - let's call him Ego - with the same face as the characters in the room. What does he do? He just goes about his life in whatever way the player sees fit. Attend work, don't attend work, talk to people, jump out of a window, steal a car, etc... it's all up to the player.
What's important is that the characters in the room represent the aspects of Ego's mind, and the actions that the player chooses to undertake in the 'real world' directly affect the political machinations of the Cabal. Talk to the cute girl next door? Love and Confidence gain a bit of power. Beat the crap out of the homeless guy outside? Violence chairs the table. And so on.
The goal of the game is ultimately whatever the player sees fit to make their goal; there is no built-in objective beyond manipulating the Cabal according to the player's wishes.
