Following the example in the live-build manual, I build the iso, and run it with qemu.
The only difference between what I did and what it says to do is in the package list, where vim and tmux replaced xchat. I'm at the test step, before the git initialization.
It boots, and gets to the debian desktop image. Nothing more shows up. I had assumed it hung, and left if for an hour to see if it got better, with no change. I can get the run prompt with alt+F2 and can get xterm from there. On the desktop, I can right click, and create a file or directory, but they don't show up on the desktop. They are created however, and can be seen with xterm in ~/Desktop
It also does do the default screensaver rotation.
I also know that the packages I installed (Vim, tmux) got installed by checking with xterm.
What am I doing wrong? Would choosing a different desktop environment help? (Currently trying with xfce, just takes quite a bit of time to build the iso, and I'm doubtful it's the correct solution)