Crafting

Crafting allows the player to build items from certain components.

Fallout 3
Scattered throughout the wasteland are notes called schematics. These can be picked up and read from your Pip-Boy from the Notes category in the Data section. Schematics contain information on how to build a custom-made weapon derived from junk parts that can be obtained throughout in the wasteland. Not only do they show you what parts make up the weapon, but they briefly describe how the weapon works and what it fires as well. You also can go to a workbench and select the weapon you want to build, and the game will tell you what you have and what you're missing to construct the weapon. Once you have everything simply approach a workbench, activate it, and a menu will pop up with a list of weapons you know how to build. Select the weapon you wish to make and after a few clinking noises a note should pop up on the upper left corner of the screen stating you have created that weapon. Not only can you make traditional weapons, but also special grenades and landmines. In total there are 7 unique weapons you can make with schematics found in the wasteland. Each weapon has more than one schematic that can be found, with multiple copies generating the items in better condition (in the case of weapons) or generating greater quantities of the item (in the case of grenades and mines).

Fallout: New Vegas
Three basic types of objects in the world can launch the crafting interface: campfires, workbenches, and reloading benches. Each station allows the creation of a subset of items. Though many recipes are visible at any time in the game, some recipes will only appear when the player completes a quest or finds a special item. You may also find that certain companions or special locations can open special crafting interfaces for the player. Recipes have skill and ingredient requirements that must be met to proceed. If any requirement is darkened, that requirement has not been met. Any recipe that has all of its requirements fulfilled will appear fully lit. After using a recipe, the product(s) of the recipe will all immediately be available in your inventory.

Van Buren
Van Buren, the canceled Fallout 3 by Black Isle Studios, was to contain various research projects which could be completed by science-oriented characters.