I'm going with a joystick for the main controls because everyone knows how to use one. A joystick is primarily used for direction and speed, it should be received well as a participant interface.

I need 6 commands minimum (up/ down/ left/ right/ forward/ back) and the joystick that I chose is made up of 4 microswitches, so only 4 controls. I love arcade buttons, so I decided to add 2 of those.

Inside of the controller is an Adafruit Feather (has an ESP8266 on it) and a battery.

I used Inventor to model this. Already realized that this rev 1 is missing holes for the battery charging and a reset switch. I also should have added screw holes on the bosses to make them less hollow. 

I can fix these post print though :D

and started printing last night. It looks good so far!