Humor sometimes stops meltdowns

I have said before that I've never really understood the concept of humor. But as I grew and learned more, I was able to remember things that people around me thought were cute or funny, and continue to use them or develop them into a new unique style, to make people laugh. I've always liked to make the ones around me smile and laugh, it makes me feel more accepted, even when I'm telling jokes that I don't understand or find less than tasteful. I will be the first to admit that I have a warped sense of humor and getting people to laugh is like throwing darts in the dark. My son however, loves me to joke and pick with him, even if his response to something I say is "You're just joking, right dad?" I have come to discover that when he is on the verge of an emotional meltdown that could last for hours, usually over frustration from playing video games, his favorite obsession, If I joke with him and try to find the humor in a situation, he will come out of it quickly and start to laugh. I then can breath a sigh of relief. For example, as usual today he is playing video games. This is upstairs where we live and I was downstairs. He started to get frustrated over the game. I could hear him start to cry and scream, and then I heard THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, as he stomped his feet on the floor above me. I walked up the stairs yelling out, "WHAT'S GOING ON? It sounds like an earthquake is happening up here!" and I did it in a pleasant, joking tone of voice. I saw his face switch from anger to happiness instantly and we engaged in some playful rolling around on the floor for a few minutes before he resumed playing his game. It's been an hour and he is still fine. Calmly trying to beat the game instead of losing control. Now this doesn't work every single time. But two out of three aint bad, eh!