More art from 2011! ALRIGHT WE'VE OFFICIALLY REACHED SPOTLIGHTER INFODUMP TERRITORY. Back in 2011 I participated in a month-long, daily art challenge called Artslam, and used it to pad out the worldbuilding for these guys! I'm still really proud of all of it, and it's the most cohesive set of Spotlighter information I have, because each art piece had accompanying notes- I'm going to put them all here in sketchdump form! These guys are my babies, thank you for reading. This first one is generalized information about Spotlighters, the company that makes them, Secure Technologies, and the city where they reside called Amberline!

Here are my original notes that went with all of these!

Spotlighters are a line of primarily security-based robotics in a city full of technological advances, brilliant inventions, and theft thereof- needless to say business is booming for the company that makes them, but they aren't without problems of their own.

<sub>- SO. This is a Spotlighter. Or at the very least the Common variety; there's other divisions specializing in different tasks which I'll get into later, but these are what started it all! As previously mentioned, Spotlighters are essentially made for security purposes, and marketed to companies (and occasionally individuals) in the city who feel like they've got something worth protecting. While security cameras are nice, these guys actually patrol whatever building, warehouse or area they're assigned to, watching for threats and either deterring or subduing anyone they feel is going to cause some trouble. They're fairly smart in terms of AI, using heuristics systems to analyze situations they haven't encountered before and choose the best course of action; they're also capable of learning from past encounters and mistakes, likely making them even better at their jobs as time goes on.

- Spotlighters get their name from the oversized, well, spotlight on the ends of their tails. Most of the divisions all actually have several glowing features, but these are by far the most prominent- they can be aimed in any direction, and provide a great lightsource in even the dimmest environments. They can be dimmed to a 'baseline' level while patrolling and cranked up to full brightness when they spot a potential troublemaker; and even if the 'HALT!' and sudden flash of light to the eyes doesn't momentarily freeze an intruder in their tracks, the shatter-resistant lens and heavy casing can make this a decent tool for whomping.

- As one can imagine, any security guard roaming around a building probably needs to be able to do a few simple things- basic stuff like opening doors, grabbing a suspect by the arm, or maybe even flipping the breakroom's tv channels on their offtime. Spotlighter paws are really not suited to any of these tasks, but this isn't a problem for them- instead, they're able to manage just fine with a long, prehensile 'tongue' that they can interact and pick up objects with. Everyone appreciates the fact that they are robots, and therefore leave no drool behind on the doorknobs!

- These guys were mostly designed to be used indoors, and are therefore not necessarily suited to the elements; they do have a water-resistant coating/layer underneath the fur to protect their machinery, but it's not heavy-duty enough to stand up to total submersion for any real length of time. Emergency sprinklers or being out in the rain for a while won't harm them, but if you dump them in a pool or other substantial amount of water and they can't get out right away, all that water will overwhelm the coating and they'll short circuit. If for any reason the coating has been damaged (such as being cut or gouged) this will happen even more quickly, and they probably won't even be able to handle things like rain until it's repaired.

- Spotlighters have a voice-box that allows them to converse with their human employers, coworkers, visitors and intruders. In addition to this, they can also communicate specifically with fellow spotlighters using a secure radio frequency, capable of connecting with only a single teammate or an entire group. This is extremely helpful for discussion of tactics or directions while an intruder is present, and allows them to synchronize their movements or plan an ambush without the person in question being alerted to their plan or positions. While the signal certainly isn't strong enough to reach the entire city, it's definitely enough to span even larger complexes and buildings.

- The city everything takes place in (and where the company that produces these guys is located) is known as Amberline, and is poised to become the region's hub of technological advances, corporate ingenuity, and other good things like that. Amberline gets its name from the golden, amber-y hues the city takes on around twilight, coating everything in a soft yellow-orange light that I tried (and kinda failed) to show here. It's a large city that's experienced a great deal of growth in the past several years, and with as many new businesses, ideas and moneys that are floating around, corporate espionage and thievery have become more and more of a problem. What started as companies hiring people to yank corporate secrets or new technologies from their competitors has grown into a full-blown thief organization not under anyone's control, so businesses are more eager than ever to protect their investments.

- The company that produces Spotlighters is known as (creatively enough) Secure Technologies, and they're located in the heart of Amberline. It's a fairly large building surrounded by even taller skyscrapers, and all of the production, repair, and sales take place within its walls. They found a great niche and exploited it, making them successful despite being fairly new to the scene, and they're trying to run an honest business here in Amberline. Unfortunately they're not without their own security problems, and have run into the ironic situation of their famed security robots falling into the 'wrong hands'; they now have to deal with the problem of thieves using a handful of Spotlighters for their own ends. But that's a story for another day!</sub>