So maybe the easier explanation is they hired some good industrial designers, who had happened to previously work on various cranks, and they possibly pitched the idea to the Panic team when asked to design the game device?

The point standing that it was an odd choice for a game controller anyway you cut it and most likely wasn't through some UX problem solving process related to games.

But what if the wacky random choice of a crank unleashes some new game mechanic we haven't seen before? Wouldn't it be fun to break away from D-pads once in a while?

That’s an R&D/lab question. Not a production device question.

I'd like to think there's some nascent game developer out there that would think up something cool once they have their hands on a production piece of equipment.

You can't always lab-grow your most creative ideas.

It THOSE guys! I’ve never used the OP-1, but I love watching people on YouTube make music on it. It seems like an amazing piece of hardware.

Check out “red means recording” https://youtu.be/7z4hoazra_g