It Came from the Desert

It Came from the Desert
Amiga/DOS cover art
Developer(s)Cinemaware
Publisher(s)Cinemaware
Producer(s)Pat Cook
Designer(s)David Riordan
Programmer(s)Randy Platt
Artist(s)Jeffrey Hilbers
Jeff Godfrey
Writer(s)Kenneth Melville
Composer(s)Greg Haggard
Jim Simmons
Platform(s)Amiga, DOS, TurboGrafx-16
Release1989 (Amiga)
1990 (DOS)
1991 (T16)
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

It Came from the Desert is a 1989 action-adventure game by Cinemaware. It was originally released for the Amiga, but later ported to MS-DOS, as well as released in distinctly different forms to consoles. The TurboGrafx-16 release is distinctly different from the computer versions, in terms of gameplay and presentation. An expansion set Antheads: It Came from the Desert II was released in 1990.

The game is inspired by dozens of 1950s monster movies especially the 1954 mutant-ant classic Them!, with the title referencing the 1953 horror film, It Came from Outer Space. The game is a non-linear combination of dialogue boxes and several types of action scenes, typical of contemporary Cinemaware releases.