In KOTOR, Bioware created entirely new characters and storylines. But it's all tied together by primary Star Wars themes: the Force, and the battle of good and evil. Along the way you'll visit places from the
movies, such as Tatooine, places related to the movies but never seen,like the Wookie homeworld of Kashyyk, and places created entirely for the game. So the game designers had a rich universe to work with, but were not tied down by previously done characters or plots and had no requirement to cover the same old material. And it works beautifully.