Well, I would call this lucidity. If you KNOW you were dreaming, and you were in control of your own actions.
The fact that you were unable to summon people, etc though is probably caused by something else I think. First of all you need to BELIEVE that you can make those people appear!
(Might sound strange, I know).

I've been like this before, knowing I were dreaming.. without the ability to control anything. And this has really irritated me. This isn't really a problem to me anymore.

If all else fails, I often try plasebo on myself. Because my mind isn't fully logically aware, It sometimes help to "trick" myself into becoming lucid.

For example, after discovering I was dreaming (through a RC) I was suddenly bothered by this "invisible wall". This is not uncommon in my dreams, don't know about you. Anyway, I tried to go through a window, removing the wall, etc. But I couldn't get past it. So I told myself out loud "The only reason why I can't pass this wall, Is because I'm to cold! I need to warm myself up!" (Kinda cheesy, I know..) : P
After telling that to myself a couple of times, I rubbed my hands together, rubbed my face, and focused on the feeling of warmth. Doing this for a few seconds, I started feeling really warm.. So I just walked through the area which had previously been blocked. Becoming more aware, and more lucid.

However the dream DID end a few moments later. But I do think that doing this in the past, has led to me encountering the very same problems less in the present. Well, that's just what I felt helped me.. I'm confident you will learn to become more lucid on your own though!