From the start, the controller design was central to the enjoyment of UFO stealth and cow-snatching. As the hardware developer for the project, I wanted to stretch my skills and build something larger than I normally do (while still considering transportation. I began with a cardboard prototype to test sizing  and basic form:

Next, I searched for the easiest way to provide rotational input into Unity. I'm using a Elegoo board, a optical rotary encoder, and the Uduino plugin for unity to simplify Arduino input. As the encoder rotates, it sends pulses that are offset from each other, and the board interprets those impulses. It outputs a rotational value to Unity, which gets updated every frame and uses the difference of values between each frame to determine rotational acceleration. 

Currently, I'm working on getting the encoder connected to a large wooden wheel that will act as the base of the UFO controller that I will build out. I've created some gears in Fusion 360 to connect the encoder and metal ring that the base will rotate on top of.