[Tuomas]

You say that like it was a good setting to begin with.

The depiction of jedis in the original trilogy is a lot more interesting than Bioware's Force Wizard version.

At any rate, KOTOR is leagues better than anything Lucas has made himself in over twenty years.

The game is fun to play but it absolutely butchers anything that is good in the setting to give us a "DnD in Space" setting. Also, Lucas never wrote a scene in which Darth Maul, summoned by his master, enters the command bridge and kills pilots standing to the left of him for no reason whatsoever. 

[Vince]

I'd just like to point out that leaving Bastila behind was not an option because her Battle Meditation technique was pretty much the only thing keeping the Republic alive in all those major battles. She was also under orders to keep an eye on you due to her special bond with you.

I'm asking why YOU had to go through all the troubles to save her? Especially the selfish, evil you. Because she was under orders to keep an eye on you?

[Wrath of Dagon]

Because that was the only chance to get off the planet, so far as you knew at the time. I admit the explanation is a little weak, but there it is.

I don't think the Sand people quest is as simple as you say. I think to get the peaceful resolution you have to be disguised and get HK-47 to translate...

You can't enter the camp unless you wear the sand people robes, which you get the moment you step outside the port. So, you'll be disguised when you talk to them and it's made clear when you land that HK-47 is a translator so you better have him with you if you want to talk to local creatures.

I'm pretty sure you can enter the camp without disguise but you have to fight all the turrets. Also to get HK-47 is a little sub-quest in itself. I'll admit that the decision with the werewolfs has more emotional impact than deciding to kill the Sand people, but the point is it's something you work towards through the entire quest, instead of just being given a choice at the end. And you don't necessarily get dark side points, since they attack you on sight if you don't meet the pre-conditions and also even with the peaceful resolution you can insist that all attacks must stop, at which point they'll attack you.

Also there's other stuff to do on Tatooine, not just the Sand people quest.

Edit: Btw, in DAO you can't be selfish and evil at all, since if you were you'd just high tail it out of Ferelden, and let others take care of the problem, instead you have to go around saving everyone.

[Calego]

It's worth noting that both Dragon Age and KoTOR amped the linearity way up to 11 for the first quest hub. It's just a way of easing players into the game. Provide them with more direction, don't punish them too severely for their choices, and you'll draw them further in. Gotta reach those valuable alternate demographics.

[Wrath of Dagon]

Here's an interesting article on motivating the player. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/AltugIsigan/20100117/4112/Motivating_Players_in_an_Engaging_Way.php I think DAO is guilty of 2 out of 3 bad things on the chart at the end.

Edit: May be all 3. You're supposed to be dealing with the problem of Loghaine, but you're not really dealing with Loghaine, so that could be considered deviation.