If anyone wants to try this without the intricate setup, if you have a linux system, you most probably can just press Ctrl+Alt+F3 and drop into a tty console directly. To return, you have to press Ctrl+Alt+F1 or Ctrl+Alt+F2. You also have multiple consoles, up until F12 probably.
I used to use this a lot when trying for a less distracting desktop, just like in the original post.
I used to use this a lot when trying for a less distracting desktop, just like in the original post.