You're right, my bad.

  The init program is just the first process (PID 1) that the kernel starts. It starts other stuff and cleans up zombie processes.

  For a single game: yes, you can absolutely just make your game PID 1. No need for systemd or anything else. When the game exits, the kernel panics and reboots.

  ISO vs container: ISO boots on bare metal with your own kernel. Container needs a host kernel and runtime. If you're making a dedicated game appliance, the ISO approach works fine - simpler actually,
  since you skip all the container orchestration machinery.

Okay now I'm curious. Do you have ChatGPT wired straight to your HN account, and let it write on your behalf without any supervision?