I've heard this can be played single-player; however, I know nothing - nothing - about MMOs and I really dislike playing games with other people. If I were to get the game, I'd just want to play it like an RPG without the MMO. 
Basically, is it possible to play this game like KOTOR and just be blissfully unaware of any of the multiplayer content?

What they mean by that is that you play the game as is but you don't have to group up or talk to others to complete quests, etc. You could play WoW the same way if you wanted to (makes some stuff harder but it's possible for the most part).
 
You're gonna see all the people and stuff but you don't have to interact with them.

Blissfully unaware of the multiplayer? No. It's an MMO. Everything you do will be online in a game world where other people are playing the same time that you are. Can you choose to ignore all of those people and tell them to fuck off and leave you alone and be a grumpy old man that wants the kids to stay off his lawn? Sure. But you'll still see other people. You may even interact with them by accident, or some of them may purposefully interact with you. That doesn't mean you can't just ignore them though and keep playing by yourself. You'd probably have a lot more fun if you DIDN'T ignore everyone else in the game though.

Edit: And by not participating with other players you won't get to see everything the game has to offer. You won't get to do the end game raids, any of the PvP stuff, and probably won't even get to see any/or at least all of the dungeons really, but, everything else should still be available for you to experience.

@BeachThunder: Not exactly. There will be sufficient content in ToR to be played solo and reach max level, but often times you will be questing in public areas which means there will be other players running around doing the same quests as you. Also there will be quests that you receive that are balanced to be completed in a group meaning you'll most likely have to abandon it, leave it on your log unfinished, or wait until you're significantly over-leveled so you can solo it successfully.

Damn, I was kind of looking forward to not having kids on my metaphorical lawn :(

@BeachThunder said:

Damn, I was kind of looking forward to not having kids on my metaphorical lawn :(

You not having played an MMO tells me that you really don't know whether or not you would enjoy playing with other players in this type of environment. It is not like console games where you just jump in games with random people that are out to do stupid shit, your in a game that focus' and gives you rewards for playing with others. I was like you at one point, where I hated grouping with others due to fear and lack of confidence. I got my shit straight and did it anyway and now am addicted to being the "main-man" in most games that I play yearning for the responsibility of group leader.

You'll still be able to enjoy a lot of the content that SWTOR has to offer, just don't expect to see the best or get to finish many questlines as most of them end in dungeons, raids, or sometimes in PVP combat.

@BeachThunder said:

Damn, I was kind of looking forward to not having kids on my metaphorical lawn :(

When it truly matters for story purposes, the plot will be instanced and nobody will suddenly walk in on your awesome stand-off with whoever of importance. :)

I hope it has enough story related content to be worth full price purchase.

@LordAltmer: It has over 200 hours of content for each character class, plus a whole world devoted to endgame content and the best of the quests so to speak

The writers are currently at work creating even more Star Wars canon so there'll be plenty of new stories, characters and locations to explore post-launch. This is a -huge- addition to the universe of Star Wars.

Why does the star wars universe stagnate for so long? its like they got to the republic then just stopped trying to invent new things. every thing has been the same for THOUSANDS of years.

@Dagbiker: My guess would be because they are always at war and on the brink of universal destruction. Most of the quest/story lines suggest that anyway. If you'll notice they also always have old ass equipment. Suggests to me the universe has less manufacturing and people make do with what they have more often then not. I don't know, though. Its just based on all the games and movies.

There's also the lazy reason being that they want it to be Star Wars identifiable.

"There's also the lazy reason being that they want it to be Star Wars identifiable."

I believe this is the real reason. If they felt like changing it entirely, they might as well make a Mass Effect MMO or something else Sci-fi (Yes, Daniel Erickson, the writer, says Star Wars Sci-fi). They've built the classes around the main characters of the movies, and some quests will put you in situations similar to the movies. Star Wars is the world-spanning IP, not New Star Wars or at this point Mass Effect.

I think the armored look makes sense for Jedi/Sith. The other classes pretty much look like their movie counterparts.

I'm sure the writers and vision holders have explanations for stagnation, whether long periods of peace have made the Republic go shoulders-down and not kept their "blades" sharpened by continued research, I suppose could be one reason. When the Empire they thought they had obliterated returns, there was less time to research, and they just have to pump out ships and equipment. If anyone do find their real reasons for similarities I'd love to know.

Given how there's essentially 8 different campaigns each with variability (according to them), I'd rather pay like $150 to ditch the MMO part and play it like an actual single player game.

@TheHT said:

Given how there's essentially 8 different campaigns each with variability (according to them), I'd rather pay like $150 to ditch the MMO part and play it like an actual single player game.

Same here!

From everything I've read that has leaked out of the beta, yes you can play most of the class stories without help from other players, but it's not going to be a very enjoyable experience, and you'll have nothing to do once you're at the max level.

Honestly, if you really dislike the idea of playing with other people, then I don't think you should spend your money on ToR