Slots for fun only

1) Yes, there are faster frameworks out there. The fastest ones I've found are GO or JAVA based (Netty, Revel, Undertow, etc) but it depends on the task and your architecture.

2) Yes but only if you really never want to index any fields in your datasets other than the IDs for searching, joining, aggregate queries, etc. It starts off a great idea for a limited feature set but once you need to dig into the relational aspect of the data, you realize it's all denormalized and not designed to scale. It ENTIRELY depends on your data model.

3) We don't use PHP. Our APIs do not require inlining code and HTML, we're all JSON based (with some exceptions for our Poker product, which is also raw socket connection based)

4) Our entire infrastructure is on AWS/EC2. I do recommend it, especially considering they slashed their prices BIGTIME starting in April. However, if you are planning on using a service like Flox, AWS/EC2 may not be necessary.

6) I've evaluated Flox and it is great for 99% of games. However we built our backend systems before PaaS guys like Flox even existed, so we are too late to the party to easily convert over to them. However, for indies, it's hands down the best way to go. I love Gamua to death, so i would definitely recommend Flox for the simplicity of their APIs and documentation. Last I checked they don't have Push Notifications but once they do, it'll be an extremely great choice.

As your game grows, you'll be faced with architectural regrets. Things like doing email campaigns, analytics, push notifications, segmentation and AB testing of game tuning data.. there's a LOT that goes into it once you reach a certain level, and a lot of times a PaaS service doesn't offer all the features your business needs to grow. It's just something to keep in mind.