The Last Express (1997), and that he was growing tired of the character due to development pressures. Plot elements from the ending of The Shadow and the Flame were going to be continued in an unpronounced sequel relating to the Prince's origins. Speaking in 2010, Mechner said that during his time writing the series bible for the production of future Prince of Persia games, he was attempting to force the Prince into the conventions of western fiction, forgetting the character's literary origins. By the time Prince of Persia 3D released in 1999 to a lukewarm response, Mechner was pleased that the Prince had run his course, as he no longer recognized the character he created. The Sands of Time For The Sands of Time, the character was completely redesigned, taking reference purely from the original game rather than Prince of Persia 3D. Mechner wrote the new story for the Prince purely for newcomers to the series, wanting the character to be memorable so as to provide a good "hook" for players together with the gameplay. He again drew inspiration from the opening of Raiders of the Lost Ark for the opening of The Sands of Time. Something he was pleased with was his initially unsympathetic portrayal of the Prince. His inspiration for the character's more serious portrayal was the stories of the Shahnameh, although he later admitted that he could not entirely remove the influences of the original Prince. In his view, "It's [the Prince's] inability to solve this conflict that gives him his particular charm." For his gameplay model, the Prince had over 780 movement animations scripted, far more than any other character in the game. The Prince was designed by Raphael Lacoste, the game's art director, who went through multiple versions from a young boy to a bare-chested older man. His final look was partially determined by the aesthetics of the game's environments. For Warrior Within, the development team decided to make the game's atmosphere darker. They also wanted to flesh the Prince out as a character, as they had felt something was lacking in The Sands of Time. With these concepts in mind, they decided the Prince would "grow up", with the story being more focused on his character than him saving a person or place. The two people most involved with the new design were art director Mikael Labat and illustrator Nicolas Bouvier. During the early