Triet Nguyen on Life, Lessons & Legacy

We recently had the chance to connect with Triet Nguyen and have shared our conversation below.

Triet, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What are you most proud of building — that nobody sees?
In my theme park and gaming work, the audience always gets to experience the final product that come years after the first brainstorming session took place. What I’m most proud of, however, is the in-between process—the drafts, prototypes, and discarded versions that come long before the final experience. No one ever sees those moments, but they’re where the real design happens: the questions asked, the decisions refined, and the ideas that get stronger through iteration. Watching that evolution, and knowing those invisible choices led to a more thoughtful, well-rounded final product, is something I take a lot of pride in.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Triet Nguyen, and I’m a Creative Designer and Producer working across theme parks, games, and immersive experiences. My background spans large-scale masterplanning—most notably during the conceptual phase of Universal’s Epic Universe and Disney’s Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser—as well as producing interactive experiences for millions of players worldwide. I’ve helped bring projects like Disney Dreamlight Valley, Applaydu, and Applaydu: Let’s Story! to life, along with award-winning games and minigames for LEGO, Netflix, and Biore. My work has reached millions of players worldwide and has been recognized with numerous industry honors, including multiple Drum Awards for Applaydu, as well as major accolades for Disney Dreamlight Valley such as Best Early Access Game, Game of the Year awards across PC, console, and mobile, and a Webby Award for Game Design.
What excites me most is bridging creative vision with practical execution, and I’m currently focused on building the next generation of immersive entertainment, including working my team at Mycotoo on the Stranger Things and One Piece experiences at Netflix Houses in Dallas and King of Prussia.

Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who taught you the most about work?
The audience has taught me the most about work. Across both games and theme parks, everything I design is meant to be experienced by people from all walks of life, and that reality becomes clear through testing. On Applaydu, we went through countless rounds of play-testing and iteration—making decisions that ranged from core mechanics down to millisecond timing and color choices—to ensure the experience felt intuitive and joyful. The same was true for Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, where testing with both lifelong fans and first-time audiences helped us create an experience where anyone could let their guard down and play effortlessly. What I’ve learned is that the most successful designs are the most inclusive ones—experiences that invite people in through clear visual language and evergreen storytelling, without requiring homework or prior knowledge to belong.

What’s something you changed your mind about after failing hard?
Early on, I believed that protecting creative intent meant holding tightly to the story I wanted to tell—whether that was adventuring with iconic characters from a galaxy far, far away or creating intimate play with familiar fairytale worlds. After failing hard a few times, I learned that intent doesn’t disappear when you make space for feedback—it often gets stronger. On projects like Applaydu and Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, testing with the right players and guests showed me that the same emotional message can land through paths I hadn’t originally imagined. Every project comes with its own constraints and contexts, and learning to design with room for iteration has helped those stories translate more honestly in the real world. It’s a lesson I’m still learning with every project.

Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
One of the biggest lies our industry tells itself is that new technology “won’t work” or that “no one asked for it.” I hear that every time something new emerges—whether it’s virtual reality, augmented reality, or now artificial intelligence—and it often discourages creators from taking meaningful risks. I’ve learned to approach technology as a tool, not a threat. At the end of the day, we’re storytellers, and new tools simply expand how and where those stories can be told. I encourage my teams to use technology in service of craft and emotion, not novelty, so we can keep finding new ways to invite audiences into experiences they didn’t yet know they wanted.

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. If you laid down your name, role, and possessions—what would remain?
In entertainment, I find joy in the process of creating long before the final version exists. Once a project opens to the public, it no longer belongs to me—it belongs to them. What I hope to achieve with my career is creating experiences, whether games, theme parks, or immersive theater, that inspire and resonate with audiences. Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, for example, won many awards for being the first of its kind, but its run was short-lived due to the financial risk it posed for Disney. Yet it paved the way for new experiences, like the Netflix Houses, where audiences can step into their favorite stories in the same immersive way. I’m grateful to have contributed to these projects and to see how they’ve inspired both audiences and other creators. What remains is that shared spark of imagination.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://trietcreative.com
• Instagram: @themeparkdesigner
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trietcreative/