Cool! This mechanic makes so much sense for PlayDate. And I love the character animation you have here.
Question for you:
Are your crank functions something that you'd care to share to this post about using the crank in Pulp?
Not sure how much the SDK and Pulpscript are compatible. If not, just describing the logic would be helpful.
I'll try to create an example room in Wind-Up City that uses the jack-in-the-box mechanic (going to call it JITB).
For many games, I could see treasure chests or other item tiles each requiring JITB to open.