I don’t understand Japanese, but Anoop Gantayat from Andriasang does. He looks at Kojima’s tweet for us, and explains:
Hideo Kojima has been talking up his mysterious “Project Ogre” at Twitter for the past year. In Japanese, he refers to the project as “Oni Project.” Today, he clarified what the “Oni” means.
There have been a few theories of what the Oni might mean. Perhaps this is such a big project that it’s devilish or demonic. Or perhaps it’s a game that requires Kojima to close off his heart as he makes it (this is from a proverb involving Oni, I believe).
These two are both incorrect, said Kojima at Twitter today. The meaning is more literal. Oni Project is a game that deals with Oni in some capacity.
Oni can be translated to a variety of things, including demon, devil, and, of course, ogre. Based off Kojima’s Tweets, it’s unclear if he’s saying that the game deals with Oni as a subject matter, or if it’s the player who handles Oni in some form (collecting spirits and so-forth).
That’s actually a huge revelation: the game involves actual demons. Kojima seems to be really passionate about this project, and I can’t wait to see what it’s about. Sneaking through hell, smoking brimstone cigars and trying to fight a demonic Metal Gear?