Thanks for your answers, everyone!
At least to start, looks like I will try the TI Launchpad.
My next question then:
What input methods do you suggest?
jmullins16 mentioned the
Arcade Button from sparkfun, which looks reliable and simple.
For the dial, 3D printing a knob for a potentiometer looks to be a good solution,
how about toggle switches and/or sliders and the like?
Sparkfun seems to have many of these options, so any experience of the best(most reliable/useful) would be great!