The faces of LEGO mini figures are getting angrier, a New Zealand researcher said on Tuesday.

Christoph Bartneck of the University of Canterbury studied all 6,000 minifigures to conclude that the number of angry faces was increasing as the company moves towards more conflict-based play themes with an array of weapons systems.

The trend could jeopardise its “highly positive” reputation, said Bartneck, acting director of the school’s Human Interface Technology Laboratory.

“The children that grow up with LEGO today will remember not only smileys, but also anger and fear in the minifigures’ faces,” he said.

He urged toymakers to take care in designing appropriate expressions and to test how they are perceived by children.

“We cannot help but wonder how the move from only positive faces to an increasing number of negative faces impacts on how children play,” Bartneck said.

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