stages, some hybrid designs with his appearance in The Sands of Time were created, but the team felt it was not radical enough. His "charisma" needed to be new, yet consistent with the events of The Sands of Time. His new armor reflected this change; it is made up of interlaced leather straps, granting him protection while giving him freedom to perform his acrobatic movements. In The Two Thrones, the Prince was portrayed as a mature warrior able to hold his own. His appearance was roughened using scars, and his Sands infection designed to appear like a "living wound" more than a tattoo. The Prince's struggle with his dark side was the focal point of the narrative, forming part of a simplification of the series narrative following the complex time travel of Warrior Within. In The Forgotten Sands, the story was written around the Prince still being a developing character, learning what it takes to be a ruler and to take responsibility for his actions. His art design drew inspiration from his appearance in Warrior Within and The Two Thrones, which Jan-Erik Sjovall described as more visually appealing compared to the original Sands of Time. Other versions A third variation of the prince appears in the 2008 reboot and its companion game The Fallen King. Mattes explained that the goal for the character design was to show his transformation into a prince through his epic journey. Additional inspiration was drawn from characters such as Sinbad from One Thousand and One Nights, Han Solo from Star Wars, and Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings. Mattes explained that when designing the character, Ubisoft wanted to communicate visually the dichotomy of the life of an adventurer. As a sign of wealth, the prince wears red and blue cloth as a turban and scarves, contrasting against his protective plain leather leggings. The Prince also had a companion in the form of Elika. Their relationship was based on the story and gameplay relationship between the Prince in The Sands of Time and Farah, which had worked well. A version of the Prince was initially considered as protagonist for a next-generation title, but director Patrice Désilet decided a royal character was unsuitable, and the project evolved into the standalone Assassin's Creed (2007). When creating the movie version's draft script, Mechner chose the name "Dastan" as he had learned it was an old Persian name meaning