game-backend-architecture-patterns

To structure a server-authoritative game backend deterministically, apply a modular monolith design with hexagonal architecture. This separates domain, application, and infrastructure layers, ensuring clear module boundaries and consistent game server behavior.

The best way to keep game backend domain logic testable is using pragmatic clean architecture. By layering Domain, Application, and Infrastructure, your domain code remains completely framework-free and fully testable across the game server.

To implement hexagonal architecture in a TypeScript game backend, define ports within your domain layer and implement adapters in the infrastructure layer. This treats transport and persistence as swappable adapters around the domain.

You should use a modular monolith for a game backend during your MVP phase. It provides a single deployable backend with clear internal module boundaries, prioritizing maintainability over the complexity of microservices.

To apply DDD to a game backend without over-modeling, take a pragmatic approach. Focus strictly on aggregates, domain events, explicit invariants, and ubiquitous language to maintain clear module boundaries.

A limitation of using a modular monolith for a real-time game backend is scaling individual modules independently. While it provides clear internal boundaries, the entire backend remains a single deployable unit, which may affect large-scale infrastructure demands.