Japanese Video Game Designer Hideo Kojima (R) And Artist Yoji Shinkawa
Japanese video game designer Hideo Kojima (R) and artist Yoji Shinkawa pose before signing autographs for fans to mark the release of the video game "Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker' at a shop in London June 18, 2010. Reuters/Paul Hackett

Hideo Kojima has taken to social networking site Twitter like a house on fire. He routinely retweets "MGS" series fan cosplay, handmade fan statues, fan art and lots and lots of pictures of what he's having for lunch on any given day. However, Kojima also posts pictures that give insight into the development of "Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain." A pair of newly released pictures do just that, and this time, former Solid Snake/Big Boss actor David Hayter gets in on the fun.

The first tweet released by Kojima shows a tired looking Snake staring glumly at the camera, his head bandaged heavily. Unfortunately, Kojima's accompanying message doesn't help clarify things. "What? Unexpectedly Snake got bandage on when back in to chopper! Why?! Wasn't plan this way," he says. It's unclear whether the developer is referring to a bizarre rendering glitch that caused the bandage to appear on Snake's head or an unexpected story development in "MGS5." Alternatively, Snake could simply be recovering from a head wound, as Paradiger states in its coverage.

Kojima's second tweet amps up the cute factor and shows D.D., the Diamond Dog group's mascot, slumped on the floor of the helicopter that takes Snake from mission to mission. Kojima notes that D.D. is shocked to see Snake in bandages.

In a separate tweet, the former voice of Solid Snake and Big Boss posted a picture of himself squaring up to a bloodied snake, with the caption "They played us like a damn fiddle." Hayter was dropped as the voice of the main character in "Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain" after voicing the characters of both Snake and Big Boss for 16 years. Hayter has appeared slighted by the choice in the past, even stating he felt a little ill at the prospect of not not returning.

Hayter has adamantly rejected all fan conspiracy theory's implying deception. "Guys, for the millionth--and last--time. I am not in 'Metal Gear V.' In any way. At all. No joke. Just not. True story," he said in a tweet last year. Shortly after sending the tweet out, Hayter deleted it, adding fuel to the fire.

Kojima's penchant for teases and intentional misdirection when it comes to the marketing of his games is legendary. It's hard to tell whether this latest tweet by Hayter is entirely innocent or represents another piece of Kojima's carefully constructed marketing plan for "MGS5."

An infamous example of Kojima's desire to keep fans on their toes is the now-legendary bait and switch he pulled in the run up to the release of "Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty." In the lead up to the release of "MGS2," Kojima tricked fans into believing they would be playing through the game as Solid Snake. When the game was released, fans were shocked to find Snake was only playable for the game's opening chapter, after which they took control of new protagonist, Raiden. "Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain" will be released on PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and PC at an undetermined date in 2015.

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(Credit: YouTube/IZUNIY)